Turkish military sets up 8th observation point in Syria's Idlib

The Turkish Armed Forces said Tuesday that it has built its eighth observation point in northwestern Syria's Idlib to monitor the de-escalation deal.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said the observation point was established in accordance with the Astana agreement signed on Oct. 12, 2017 to monitor the cease-fire regime in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

The aim of the observation posts is to establish, monitor and sustain the current cease-fire in the de-escalation zones, deliver humanitarian aid to the persons in need and to ensure the secure return of displaced people, the military previously said.

During peace talks in the Kazakh capital, the three guarantor countries, Turkey, Iran and Russia, had agreed to establish de-escalation zones in Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama provinces.

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.

According to the Astana agreement, Turkey is projected to gradually establish 12 observation points, from Idlib's north to south.

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

Since March 2015, Idlib was no longer under the control of the Assad regime and was dominated by military opposition groups and anti-regime armed forces.