Turkey army moves to set Syria cease-fire monitor point

A Turkish army convoy on Thursday moved to establish a new cease-fire observation point in a northwestern Syrian de-escalation zone, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground.

The convoy arrived in the village of Es Sirman, Maarat al-Numaan, located in the southeast of the Idlib-Afrin zone, after crossing the Turkish-Syrian border late Wednesday, the correspondent said.

A new observation point is to be established 70 kilometers from the Turkey-Syria border.

Assad regime army elements and Iran-backed groups are around 10 km from the deployment point.

On Oct. 12, 2017, the Turkish military started to cross into the region to establish observation points to monitor the cease-fire regime in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Under the Astana, Kazakhstan agreement, Turkey is set to gradually establish 12 observation points, from Idlib's north to south.

Idlib, located in northwestern Syria on the Turkish border, has faced intense attacks by the Assad regime after a vicious civil war broke out in 2011.

Since March 2015, Idlib is no longer under the control of the Assad regime and has been overrun by military opposition groups and anti-regime armed organizations.