At least 29 Turkish soldiers were killed Thursday (February 27th) by air strikes in the Idlib region, where Ankara retaliated by hitting targets of the Syrian regime, NATO, of which Turkey is a member, condemning “The indiscriminate strikes of the Syrian regime and its Russian ally”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu. He called Damascus and Moscow to “Stop their offensive”, and “Urged all parties to de-escalate this dangerous situation and to avoid further aggravating the appalling humanitarian situation in the region”.
Thirty-six soldiers were also injured in airstrikes that targeted this northwestern region of Syria, attributed to the Syrian regime. The injured have been repatriated to Turkey for hospitalization, said Rahmi Dogan, the governor of the Turkish province of Hatay, bordering Syria.
The presidency announced that the Turkish army was bombing positions of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in reprisal for the deaths of Turkish soldiers during the night of Thursday to Friday. “All known positions of the regime [syrien] were taken under fire from our ground and air units “, Turkish director of communications Fahrettin Altun said in a statement. The Turkish official also urged the international community, including Russia and Iran, sponsors of Damascus, to “Take responsibility” for “Put an end to the crimes against humanity committed by the regime”.
Ditch between Ankara and Moscow
A new round of talks between Russians and Turks aimed at finding a solution to the Idleb crisis ended on Thursday in Ankara, without announcing a conclusive result. Ankara’s heavy casualties on Thursday came after weeks of escalation in Idlib between Turkish and Bashar Al-Assad’s regime forces, who clashed repeatedly. These deadly bombings, which bring to at least 49 the number of Turkish soldiers killed in Idlib in February, are also likely to widen a gap between Ankara and Moscow, the main supporter of the Syrian regime.
With support from the Moscow Air Force, Damascus launched an offensive in December to retake Idlib’s last rebel and jihadist stronghold. In recent weeks, the regime and its Russian ally have taken over several localities in this border province of Turkey.
However, rebel groups, some of which are supported by Ankara, counterattacked and recaptured the strategic city of Saraqeb on Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). By taking over the city, jihadists and rebels cut the M5 highway connecting the capital Damascus to the metropolis of Aleppo (north).
“Humanitarian cease-fire” remained a dead letter
Western members of the UN Security Council called for a “humanitarian cease-fire”, which went unheeded when Russia refused. Seven civilians, including three children, died Thursday in Syrian and Russian bombings in the province of Idlib, according to the OSDH.
Since December, more than 400 civilians have been killed in the assault, according to the OSDH, and more than 948,000 people, including more than half a million children, have been displaced by the UN.
If Turkey is so interested in Idlib, it is mainly because it fears a new influx of refugees on its soil, where some 3.6 million Syrians already live. As part of an agreement concluded in 2016 with Brussels, Ankara is committed to preventing the passage of migrants to Europe, notably via Greece.
But on Thursday, AKP presidential party spokesperson Omer Celik said Turkey was not “No longer able to retain” migrants who would like to go to Europe, while stressing that Ankara’s migration policy hadn’t “Not changed”.
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