DAMASCUS, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Calm prevailed in the countryside of Hama Province and the nearby countryside of Idlib Province in northwestern Syria early Saturday, a war monitor reported.
The calm in the northern countryside of Hama and the southern countryside of Idlib as well as mountains in the eastern countryside of Latakia Province came as a result of a truce mediated by Russia and Turkey, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
No Syrian or Russian airstrikes targeted the rebel positions in the aforementioned areas as a result of the 72-hour truce, the London-based watchdog added.
The clam came following 18 days of escalation in the airstrikes and battles in the region.
The Syrian army started an operation against the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, in the northern countryside of Hama in central Syria and nearby Idlib late last month.
The Syrian government said the attacks are a response to the rebels' attacks and infiltration attempts into Syrian military sites in the region.
Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria and now controlled by the HTS.
Areas in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo are included in the de-escalation zones deal which was reached between Russia and Turkey in September 2018.
The deal failed to materialize as the HTS expanded in Idlib and started attacks on Syrian military positions instead of withdrawing from the designated zone which combines Idlib with Hama and Aleppo countryside.
