On August 11, several units of the Russian Millitary Police were deployed on the Murak crossing between the government-held and opposition-held areas in the norther Hama countryside, according to the Syrian news outlet Enab Baladi. The pro-opposition news outlet added that a second crossing near the town of Qalaat al-Madiq was closed by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
Syrian pro-government activists revealed that the Russian Millitary Police will turn the crossing into a humanitarian corridor. According to the activists, the procedure is a part of the ongoing preparations of the SAA and its allies to launch a military operation against militants in northern Hama.
Previously, similar humanitarian corridors were established during the battles of Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta and Southern Syria. These corridors allowed hundreds of thousands of civilians to leave the battlefield safely.