Turkey-Russia patrols start amid protests on Syrian highway

Turkish and Russian troops began joint patrols Sunday on a key highway in northwest Syria, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, while both the Russian government and Syrian opposition activists said the patrols were shortened because of protests.

Patrols on the highway known as the M4, which runs east-west through Idlib province, are part of a cease-fire agreement between Turkey and Russia signed earlier this month. The cease-fire ended an escalation in fighting that saw the Turkish military in rare direct conflict with Syrian government troops.

The vital highway, which runs through northern Syria from the Mediterranean to the Iraqi border, has been partially closed since 2012. Work has been underway over the past days to refurbish it for traffic. Some sections of the M4 remain under rebel control.

For the past three days, residents of rebel-held parts of the highway have protested in rejection of Russian troops patrolling the road because of Moscow's strong support to Syrian government forces.

“The first Turkish-Russian united land patrol was carried out on the M4 highway in Idlib with the involvement of land and air elements,” Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Turkey and Russia carried out their first joint patrol mission along the M4 highway Sunday adding that “the patrols' route was shortened” after militants used women and children to block the way. The Defense Ministry's statement was carried by state-run news agency Tass.

Ankara has been given additional time to ensure the safety of troops taking part in joint patrols, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Syrian opposition activists said residents blocked the highway with burning tires near the village of Nairab on the southern edge of Idlib in rejection to patrols by “Russian occupation forces."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor with activists on the ground in Syria, said the joint patrols were not successful as they moved a short distance west of the government held town of Saraqeb before being stopped by the protests.

It added that jihadi groups have threatened to attack Russian forces on the highway. Idlib is mostly controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants.

Ankara backs some of the opposition groups in Idlib, the fighters' final stronghold against the Russian-backed forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Some 60 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Idlib since the start of February as Syrian troops carried out a ground and air offensive into the province that began in early December. The assault killed hundreds of civilians and sent 1 million fleeing towards the Turkish border.

Russian officials visited Ankara last week to hammer out the cease-fire. After four days of talks, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey hoped the deal would prove to be permanent.

Turkey and Russia already conduct joint military patrols elsewhere in Syria. Following an agreement that halted Turkey’s attack on Kurdish forces in October, soldiers from the two countries monitor an area of northeast Syria along the Turkish border.