DAMASCUS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Saturday targeted rebel groups trying to infiltrate Syrian military positions in the demilitarized zone in the countryside of Hama province, according to state news agency SANA.
The army targeted the rebels of the Turkistan Party near the villages of al-Zyara and Sermaniyah after spotting them in the demilitarized zone.
The targeting happened just a couple of days after the Turkistan Party rebels attacked several military positions in the northern countryside of Hama with explosive mortar shells, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that 27 areas in the demilitarized zone have witnessed violations over the past few days as a result of confrontations between the army and the rebels.
The demilitarized zone deal, which is in its fourth month, includes areas in Idlib, which is the last major rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria, as well as adjacent countryside areas of the provinces of Hama, Latakia, and Aleppo.
The deal for imposing a demilitarized zone was reached in September between the leaders of Turkey and Russia, aiming at averting Idlib province from a wide-scale offensive by the Syrian army.
Turkey's task in the deal is to persuade the rebel groups in Idlib to abide by the plan as Ankara enjoys sway over the militants there.
However, the extremist group such as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, rejected to withdraw from the zone in accordance with the plan.
The ultra-radical rebels control 70 percent of the buffer zone.
The Syrian government has initially welcomed the deal but noted that it was only temporary, repeatedly noting that Idlib will inevitably return under the government control.
Idlib, now in a state of severe lawlessness with assassinations, explosions, and infighting, is of strategic significance.
It shares a border area with Turkey in the north and neighbors the coastal province of Latakia, the hometown of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Notably, the namesake capital city of Idlib lies close to the international road linking the capital Damascus with the northern province of Aleppo.
Idlib is home to around 3.5 million people, including those who evacuated after the surrender of rebels in other Syrian areas.
