Protesters cheer as men stand on a Turkish military vehicle during a joint Turkish-Russian patrol on the M4 highway in Idlib Province in March (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

Turkish forces have killed several people protesting March’s Turkey-Russia agreement to partition Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

Local pro-opposition activists report five protesters were shot dead and several were wounded as they continued to challenge Turkish-Russian military patrols along the cross-Idlib M4 highway.

The Turkish military claimed that the slain men were fighters with the hardline Islamist bloc Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.

The patrols were implemented after a March 4 agreement between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire, pausing an 11-month Russian-Assad regime offensive that had seized part of Idlib Province and almost all of neighboring northern Hama Province.

The deal allowed pro-Assad forces, enabled by Russia, to retain the seized territory as more than 1 million Syrians were displaced from their homes. The Russian-supported offensive controlled the Damascus-to-Aleppo M5 as well as the M4 highways.

Protesters immediately set up positions on the M4, dug up parts of the highway, and placed berms across it.

They have permitted Turkish military patrols in a corridor along the M4, but only if they are not accompanied by Russian vehicles. Moscow’s forces have only been able to patrol a small section of the road between Nairab and Saraqeb.

Deadly Clash

Local media activist Mustafa Mohammed said Sunday’s shootings came after Turkish armored vehicles approached a protest camp at dawn near the town of Nairab in Idlib.

The Turkish troops removed barricades. They then threw tear gas grenades and fired on protesters blocking their way, killing five protesters and injuring several others.

HTS fighters then reportedly retaliated with mortar fire on Turkish troops manning a position near Nairab, injuring several.

The Turkish military targeted the mortar launcher, destroying it and injuring several fighters. HTS then attacked a Turkish bulldozer with an anti-personnel missile.

Meanwhile, activists said pro-Assad forces continue to break the ceasefire with shelling. On Sunday morning, towns such as Bara and Beneen were reportedly attacked.

Turkey’s English-language media ignore the incident today.

Since the surge of Coronavirus in Turkey, with 2,905 deaths and 110,000 cases, news on Syria has largely dropped out of the Turkish outlets.