There are still Nusra militants in Idlib who are not stopping their attempts to wreck the implementation of the memorandum that was agreed between Russia and Turkey: Russia Terrorists on Thursday killed four pro-regime fighters in Idlib province MOSCOW: Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused Nusra militants in Syria’s Idlib Province of trying to wreck a Russo-Turkish initiative to create a demilitarized zone in the insurgent-held region, the Interfax news agency reported. “There are still Nusra militants in Idlib who are not stopping their attempts to wreck the implementation of the memorandum that was agreed between Russia and Turkey,” Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the ministry, was cited as saying. Interfax quoted Zakharova as telling a news briefing in Moscow that the militants were continuing to shell Syrian regime forces in the south of the province and to the northwest of Hama. The agreement forged in September between Russia, which is Syrian President Bashar Assad’s most powerful ally, and Turkey, which backs the insurgents, staved off a major regime offensive into the opposition-held region in northwest Syria. Terrorists on Thursday killed four pro-regime fighters in Idlib province, a monitor said. At dawn on Thursday, extremists from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a faction led by former Al-Qaeda militants, attacked a regime position in the east of the province, said the Britain based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “Four regime fighters were killed in the assault, and a member of HTS also died,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. “There is an ongoing exchange of artillery fire between the two parties” in land that is part of the planned demilitarised zone, he added. The agreement between Russia and Turkey to create the buffer zone was aimed at staving off a regime troops’ assault on the province. As set out under the deal, insurgents announced they had withdrawn heavy artillery from the zone, but extremists including HTS refused to leave the area. Artillery fire by regime forces killed at least seven civilians in Idlib on Friday last week, the Observatory said. Assad’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem expressed dissatisfaction this week with the implementation of the agreement, and criticized Turkey for shortcomings. “Terrorists are still present in this sector with their heavy weapons,” he was quoted as saying by the pro-regime SANA news agency on Monday, referring to the buffer zone. “This indicates that Turkey does not want to respect its obligations,” he added. Syria’s war has killed more than 360,000 people since it erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Topics: Idlib Russia Syria Turkey Related 158 Middle-East Militants kill 4 regime fighters in Syria’s Idlib — monitor 328 photos Middle-East In Syria’s Idlib, a protester still going strong French ‘Daesh mothers’ held in Syria face terrible choice France is grappling with how to handle citizens left in the war zone following heavy losses for Daesh. (AFP) Updated 11 min 49 sec ago AFP November 02, 2018 00:02 13 French officials made clear that the mothers themselves will not be welcomed home Reluctant to bring extremists back onto home soil, France has so far insisted its captured nationals must go on trial locally PARIS: For dozens of French women detained in Syria, an impossible choice looms: Keeping their children in a war zone, or sending them home knowing they might never see each other again. Like other Western nations which experienced an extremist exodus to Iraq or Syria, France is grappling with how to handle citizens left in the war zone following heavy losses for Daesh. Last week, France announced plans to start repatriating an estimated 150 children, many of them being held alongside their mothers by Kurdish forces in Syria following Daesh defeats. But French officials made clear that the mothers themselves will not be welcomed home. A few days ago, Nadine — her name has been changed — got a phone call from her daughter-in-law in a Kurdish camp. The young mother was in tears. “Do I have to abandon my children in order for them to go back to France?” she sobbed. Nadim Houry, a senior Human Rights Watch official who regularly visits the Kurdish camps, said France’s announcement would “bring an end to an unbearable situation.” There are no schools or activities for children in the camps, where poor hygiene causes regular bouts of diarrhea, vomiting and skin infections. Lawyers for the mothers, pushing for the whole families to be repatriated, have complained for months of “deplorable” conditions in the camps. “My daughter-in-law gets sick a lot, like her children,” Nadine said. “She only weighs 45 kg.” Reluctant to bring extremists back onto home soil, France has so far insisted its captured nationals must go on trial locally. Some 260 adults and 80 minors have already returned to France from Syria or Iraq, and earlier this year French authorities estimated that more than 700 adults and 500 children were still in the war zone. Several French adults have already been tried in Iraq and their children repatriated. But in Syria, most of the remaining French nationals are being held in northern Syria in territory which, while under Kurdish control, does not constitute an internationally recognized state. Kurdish forces have repeatedly insisted they will not try foreign prisoners and have called on the extremists’ home countries to repatriate them. Houry said the idea that France could leave the Kurds to put its nationals on trial was “a fiction” that it was maintaining in a bid to avoid public alarm at a wave of impending terrorist returns. Lawyers for the mothers, meanwhile, say it is a travesty that a country which touts itself as a beacon of human rights would separate parents from children and leave its citizens in a war zone. William Bourdon, a lawyer for several of the women, insisted that “the vast majority have had no combat or active role in Daesh and have a right to a fair trial, which can only take place in France.” Nadine began sobbing at the thought of the choice facing her daughter-in-law. “Having to give away your children without knowing whether or not you’re going to see them again one day, or who will be looking after them — can you imagine doing that to someone?” Nadine said in a phone call. “My daughter-in-law is still breastfeeding the youngest, just eight months old. It’s an unspeakable cruelty.” Houry predicted that many of the mothers will refuse to separate from their children — an assessment shared by relatives in France. “It’s their comfort, their only reason for living,” said one resident in northern France, whose sister is still in Syria. “My daughter-in-law will not give up her little one like that, not even knowing what’s going to become of herself,” said Sarah, a pseudonym. Sarah’s son and his wife set off for Syria in 2016 and were arrested a year ago by the Kurds. The mother and son are both in a camp, fending off illness and chasing away mice from their tent, Sarah said. Like the families, child psychologist Serge Hefez believes separating the children from their parents can only bring more harm. “Keeping a link with a parent, even if it’s visits in prison, is essential for a child,” he said. Otherwise, he warned, the children run a greater risk of radicalization themselves — turning the absent parent “into a hero or a martyr.” Topics: Daesh France Iraq Syria Related 518 Middle-East Turkish attacks in Syria prompt SDF to halt to fight against Daesh 654 Middle-East Iraq’s Mosul logs civil records lost to years of Daesh rule loading... Latest updates Nusra militants trying to wreck deal over Idlib buffer zone, Russia says 0 French ‘Daesh mothers’ held in Syria face terrible choice 13 Iran-backed forces threaten Iraqi prime minister over minister standoff 3 Brazil will move embassy in Israel to Jerusalem: New president Bolsonaro 42 Pablo Zabaleta eyes Middle East career finale 22