UN Commission Of Inquiry On Syria Welcomes Russian-Turkish Agreement On Idlib Buffer Zone

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2018) The UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic welcomed on Friday the agreement on a demilitarised zone in the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in the Russian resort city of Sochi and signed an agreement on setting up a 9-12 mile demilitarized zone in Idlib along the contact line of the armed opposition and the government forces by October 15.

"The Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the 17 September ceasefire agreement reached between the Republic of Turkey and the Russian Federation. This agreement appears to have spared civilians temporarily from a full-scale onslaught and we strongly call for immediate and unhindered humanitarian access and provision of relief to the civilian population of Idlib," the UN commission said in a statement.

The commission also called on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under the international humanitarian law.

"The Commission reminds the parties to this conflict, and the governments that support them, that they all have binding obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in situations of armed conflict. It also reminds all actors in the conflict that every Syrian - each child, woman, and man - has fundamental human rights that must be respected, protected and fulfilled regardless of who controls the territory in which they are located," the commission added.

The Syrian civil war has been raging for over seven years, with government forces fighting numerous terror groups and opposition factions. Russia and Turkey along with Iran are guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire agreement.