MOSCOW: Russia’s military Wednesday said it had set up a zone north of the Syrian city of Aleppo to stop clashes between Kurdish fighters and opposition rebels. “To prevent provocations and possible clashes between the Free Syrian Army in northern Syria and Kurdish militia, a de-confliction zone was created in Tal Rifaat district,” senior Russian military officer Sergei Rudskoi told a briefing.

“Contingents of Syrian government forces have replaced Kurdish armed groups, which have left this district” and “a contingent of Russian military police has been brought in to the area” and set up checkpoints, Rudskoi said.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) last month said that under an agreement with Moscow “Russian military observers” would “deploy along multiple points” in the area to monitor and provide security.

Rudskoi said about 400 people have returned to their homes in Tal Rifaat since the de-confliction zone was established.

Speaking the day after Syrian government forces broke the blockade of Daesh’s (ISIS) stronghold Deir al-Zor, Rudskoi said that the Syrian army had “achieved serious success” in east and central Syria over the past two weeks.