Syria opposition eyes ‘broad’ truce in Idlib: Former PM

By Gulsum Incekaya

ISTANBUL

Syrian opposition groups hope to see a viable cease-fire imposed in Idlib, Ahmed Tuma, former prime of the Syrian Interim Government, said at a Monday press conference convened in Istanbul.

Speaking at a press conference organized by the Syrian National Coalition to discuss the implications of September’s Sochi agreement between Turkey and Russia, Tuma said that the recent removal of heavy weapons from Idlib had served to make the whole region safer.

According to the opposition leader, the Turkish army has largely cleared Idlib of extremist opposition groups -- and heavy weapons -- since the Turkey-Russia agreement came into effect.

“We hope to see a broad cease-fire in Idlib and the establishment there of a fully secure [demilitarized] zone,” he said.

“With God’s help -- and the Turkish army’s successes -- the region has now been cleared of [heavy] weapons,” he added.

“These actions have not only assured the security of but have also hamstrung the terrorists who had been threatening our neighbors,” Tuma said.

“The plans of certain groups serving various causes in the region have also been thwarted,” he continued. “From this point forward, a comprehensive peace should take hold in Syria.”

“But in order to establish a democratic state, the tyrannical Syrian regime must go,” Tuma went on. “The Syrian people’s primary demand is to establish a structure that cares about human rights.”

He added: “We must raise Syria to the level of a civilized society.”

Tuma went on to praise the discipline shown by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which continues to act in concert with the Turkish army in line with September’s Sochi agreement.

"We call on other opposition groups based in to conduct their affairs within the framework of this agreement,” he said.

“They should lay down all heavy arms in areas designated as demilitarized zones under Turkish custodianship and withdraw from the region," Tuma asserted.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara