Turkey, ramping up its intensive efforts to prevent bloodshed and ensure the safety of civilians in the last opposition-held stronghold of Syria’s Idlib, has prepared a list of 400 terror suspects to be arrested.
Turkish intelligence units have completed a list of suspected terrorists, including some who are in Assad’s intelligence organization al-Muhaberat, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Daesh terrorists.
Turkish security units also aim to take necessary measures against foreign fighters.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to turn Syria's northwestern Idlib province into a demilitarized zone that will extend between 15 to 20 kilometers (9-12 miles) into Idlib by Oct. 15. The weapon-free zone will be formed between the Assad regime forces and opposition groups, while Russia will guarantee that there will be no intervention targeting Idlib. The region is planned to be normalized in six months by prioritizing security, education and health issues.
Located near the Turkish border, Idlib is home to more than 3 million Syrians, many of whom fled to other cities following attacks by Assad regime forces.
The region will also be cleared of terrorists from Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), including the al-Qaeda-linked group formerly known as the Nusra Front, which is one of the most powerful terror alliances in Idlib.
With the evacuation of foreign fighters, it is predicted that the issue of the HTS, which Turkey designated as a terror group in August 2018, will be mostly solved.
The number of foreign fighters from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reportedly exceeds 4,000.
