Fierce clashes have broken out between rebels and jihadists in the planned buffer around Syria's Idlib region set out under a Russian-Turkish deal, a monitor said Tuesday.
"Intense fighting has been going on since Monday, leaving 13 dead in 24 hours," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Seven of those killed came from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the faction led by former Al-Qaeda fighters that controls most of Idlib, the Britain-based monitor said.
Regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey agreed in September to set up a buffer zone around the last major opposition stronghold of Idlib to avert a Syrian regime offensive.
The latest fighting pitting jihadist hardliners against a Turkish-backed rebel alliance was happening in a part of the "demilitarised" area inside Aleppo province, the Observatory said.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said that the jihadists had been making an "advance".
There have been repeated clashes in the area involving jihadists, rebel groups and government forces since Moscow and Ankara agreed the deal for Idlib.
But the two power brokers appear intent on making the buffer deal stick as they look to push on with negotiations to end Syria's seven-year war.
An October 10 deadline for opposition groups to withdraw heavy weapons from the buffer zone was met on time, according to Turkey, the Observatory and rebels.
But jihadists have so far ignored a demand for them to pull out of the area entirely and have vowed to continue fighting.
More than 360,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
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