Russian-Turkish patrol on M4 in Idlib returns after stone-throwing
North-Press Agency
On Thursday, residents of Ariha city intercepted a joint Russian-Turkish patrol on the M4 highway for the second time in a week.
Russian and Turkish forces conducted a joint patrol on the Aleppo-Latakia highway, which started from the town of Tarnaba in the southeastern countryside of Idlib and reached the city of Ariha in the southern countryside of Idlib.
The patrol consisted of three Russian and three Turkish military vehicles, accompanied by Turkish and Russian reconnaissance aircraft and Russian military aircraft.
Once the patrol arrived in Ariha, it was stoned by residents, forcing the patrol to return to Tarnaba. It was not known whether the people who intercepted the patrol were civilians or belonged to the opposition groups.
This patrol is the second to be intercepted at the entrance to Ariha and prevented from reaching the Mahmbel village.
Last Tuesday, unidentified gunmen opened fire near the town of Ariha on a joint Russian-Turkish patrol which was scheduled to reach the village of Mahmbel, southwest of Idlib, before it reached the Ariha Bridge. This area is considered Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) last point of control, and the Turkistan Islamic Party's beginning of control.
The patrol was also subjected to stones thrown by the residents of the area to prevent it from completing the tour before returning to its departure point in Tarnaba, without completing its path.
The attitude of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seemed to be against the conduct of the joint Russian-Turkish patrols, which prompted it to support the sit-in that took place against the conduct of the joint patrols on the highway last month.
Earlier, field sources indicated that the protest on the M4 highway was broken in conjunction with the opening of an economic crossing, which was opposed by Turkey, between areas controlled by the HTS and areas of Syrian government control in Aleppo's countryside, to be followed by the completion of joint patrols on the highway, about 50 days after Russia and Turkey reached a ceasefire.