Regime targets Syria's Idlib in violation of Sochi deal

By Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria

Syrian regime forces and pro-Assad foreign terrorists shelled several districts in the Idlib de-escalation zone on Friday in violation of the Sept. 17 Sochi agreement between Turkey and Russia.

According to information compiled by Anadolu Agency correspondents in Syria, regime forces backed by pro-regime foreign terrorist groups fired several artillery barrages into the de-escalation zone.

Two children were reportedly injured after regime forces targeted several suburban districts in Idlib.

After a Sept. 17 meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two sides agreed to set up a demilitarized zone -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited -- in Syria’s Idlib province.

According to the terms of the deal, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will conduct joint patrols in the area with a view to preventing a resumption of fighting.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.