UN Watching Closely As Deadline For Militants To Leave Idlib Buffer Zone Passes - Dujarric

The United Nations is closely monitoring the situation in Syria's Idlib after a deadline passed for militants to withdraw from a newly created buffer zone in the province, UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a press briefing on Monday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2018) The United Nations is closely monitoring the situation in Syria's Idlib after a deadline passed for militants to withdraw from a newly created buffer zone in the province, UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a press briefing on Monday.

"Mr. (Staffan) de Mistura and his colleagues are obviously following this very closely," Dujarric told reporters. "We hope to have an update from them later on today as the day goes by."

Under a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey last month, militants were given until October 15 to withdraw heavy weapons and move away from a newly formed 15-20 kilometer demilitarized buffer zone between opposition and government forces in Idlib.

But as the deadline passed on Monday, it remained unclear whether terrorist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia) and its umbrella organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham were fully complying with the agreement.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moallem warned earlier on Monday that Damascus is ready to intervene in Idlib if the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group fails to implement the Russian-Turkish deal. He added, however, that Syria would wait for Russia's patrol forces to determine whether the deal was being adequately upheld.

Dujarric stressed the need for all parties to do whatever they could to avoid massive military action that would bring great suffering to civilians in the Idlib region.

The deal to create the demilitarized buffer zone in Idlib was reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on September 17 in Sochi. Under the agreement, Russian and Turkish forces were due to start patrolling the buffer zone on Monday after the militants withdrew.

But Turkey has asked to temporarily postpone the start of joint patrols due to ongoing security concerns, a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik on Monday.

Turkey's Defense Ministry has said that all heavy weapons have been withdrawn from the designated area in accordance with the agreement. Russia's Foreign Ministry has said that more than 1,000 militants have left the area and around 100 heavy weapons have been pulled out.

But a Syrian opposition source told Sputnik on Monday that radical groups failed to surrender their heavy weapons as agreed and instead simply moved deeper into the province.

Local media reported last week that terrorists belonging to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra did not want to withdraw from the buffer zone because Turkey had not given them security guarantees.