Turkey says Syria ceasefire holding, Russia reports shootings

ISTANBUL - Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday there had been no violations of the ceasefire in Syria's Idlib, as part of an agreement with Russia, while Russia said there have been a few shootings in the region.

"We will continue to be a deterrent force to prevent any violation to the ceasefire. None occurred since ceasefire entered into force," the Turkish Defence Ministry quoted Akar as saying.

The ceasefire was reached in Moscow on Thursday after talks to contain an escalating conflict.

Nearly a million people have been displaced in a three-month Russian-backed offensive by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in northwest Syria against Ankara-backed rebel groups.

Russian news agencies, citing the defence ministry, said there have been three cases of shooting in Idlib in the past 24 hours.

It also said there were seven cases of shootings in Latakia and nine in Aleppo. The defence ministry also reported that 860 refugees have returned to Syria from Jordan and Lebanon for the past day.

Akar also said Turkey would use its right to self-defence if there is any attack targeting its forces or bases in the region.

The deal called for joint patrols of Turkish and Russian forces around the M4 road in Idlib region starting on March 15.

Turkey has started to work on the procedures and principles of the safety corridor around the road, Akar said, adding that a Russian military delegation will visit Ankara next week for discussions.

Russia and Turkey back opposing sides in Syria's nine-year conflict, with Moscow supporting Assad and Turkey backing some rebel groups. Several previous deals to end the fighting in Idlib have collapsed.

The comments from Turkey and Russia came amid reports that an Iranian commander was shot dead south of the Syrian capital.

Farhad Dabirian was killed on Friday in the Sayyida Zeinab neighbourhood outside Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, identifying him as a commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iran has deployed personnel from the IRGC in Syria to support Assad. The Guards hold sway over myriad militia groups whose ranks include fighters from Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, called the death an "assassination" but did not suggest who was responsible.

Iran's Fars news agency said that Dabirian had been "martyred", without specifying his rank or whether he was a member of the IRGC. It said he was tasked with guarding a Shiite shrine south of the Syrian capital.