"As a result of negotiations with the leaders of settlements and illegal armed groups in the southwestern de-escalation zone, with assistance of the Russian Reconciliation center, three tanks, two howitzers, five anti-aircraft installations, one heavy machine gun and three pickup trucks as well as large amount of ammunition… were surrendered over the past 24 hours," the statement read.
According to the statement, in spite of the established ceasefire regime, illegal armed groups operating in Idlib de-escalation zone continue to violate it.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that about 1.2 million Syrian refugees have returned to their homes since September 2015, when the Russian military began an operation against terrorists in the country at the request of Damascus.
As many as 1.186 million of internally displaced Syrians have returned to their homes from refugees' camps in this period, the ministry-affiliated Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper reported.
SPUTNIK/MNA