BICOM

The deadline for removing armed Islamist groups from the demilitarised zone under the Idlib agreement passed yesterday, increasing concerns of a renewed Syrian offensive in the province.

As part of the agreement brokered last month, fighters were supposed to withdraw from front-lines by midnight on Sunday, allowing for the creation of a demilitarised zone that would be patrolled by Russian and Turkish forces.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants largely failed to comply with the agreement. Syria’s main jihadist group the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front, said on Sunday: “We value the efforts of all those striving – at home and abroad – to protect the liberated area and prevent its invasion and the perpetration of massacres in it.” However, it added that it would not end its armed struggle or hand over its weapons. Reuters reports that another major group in the area, the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front, announced it would accept the deal.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said it was up to Russia now to judge whether the agreement, which delayed a government offensive on the last remaining province in rebel hands, was being fulfilled. “We have to wait for the Russian reaction. Russia is monitoring and following the situation. Our armed forces are ready around Idlib to eradicate terrorism if the Idlib agreement is not implemented,” he said.

Syria and Jordan have reopened the Naseeb border crossing for the first time in three years, promising to restore commercial trade and travel between the two countries. Dozens of private cars lined up to cross from Jordan on the opening day. Jordanian Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said: “The Naseeb crossing is a vital lifeline for trade between the two brotherly countries Jordan and Syria through them to other Arab countries.”

The Quneitra crossing on the Israeli Golan Heights also reopened on Monday. It was closed for over four years due to the fighting. Syria state TV showed the Syrian flag raised at the crossing where UN observers have been stationed to monitor a cease-fire between the two countries since 1974, but were forced to leave during the civil war