ALEPPO (Syria). Oct 12 (Interfax) - The Russian center for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria has brokered the surrender of 65 militants to Syrian government troops in the north of the country.
The village of Abu-Kahf, which is in an area uncontrolled by government forces, was chosen as the assembly point. The surrender took place at a checkpoint near the town of Taiha.
"We were waiting for those people here. They asked the intermediaries to tell us they were ready to come. The Russian military assisted in the negotiations," Amer al-Ahmadi, a local representative of the government for the reconciliation process, told the press.
The militants said they stayed in the rear and took no part in the hostilities. The Syrian security services will check the biography of every surrendered militant as part of the program of normalizing the status of civilians, al-Ahmadi said.
"The people who came to us are aware that we vet everyone very thoroughly, so we can trust them to an extent. Once their status is restored, we can help get their wives and children out of there," al-Ahmadi said.
At the request of Syrian authorities, the Russian center for reconciliation ensured safe passage for the surrendering militants' convoy to Aleppo. The surrendered militants will request the normalization of their statuses, and security check will take approximately two weeks. Once the procedure is over, the Syrian citizens will pledge not to join illegal groups in exchange for amnesty guaranteed by President Bashar al-Assad. To date, over 20,000 Syrians have taken part in the reconciliation process.