Most heavy arms pulled out of planned Syria buffer zone

Jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels in Syria's last major opposition stronghold have withdrawn heavy weapons from nearly all of a planned buffer zone, a monitor said Tuesday, a day ahead of deadline. The pullback is the first major test of a deal brokered by government ally Russia and Turkey last month to avoid what the United Nations warned would be the appalling humanitarian consequences of a major government offensive. Analysts had expected Ankara to have a difficult time enforcing the September 17 deal but by Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the heavy weapons pullout was nearly complete.

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