An air raid in Idlib, Syria, killed 33 Turkish soldiers. Turkey then attacked Syrian government forces and asked for NATO support. Otherwise they will open the border to refugees.
After the death of at least 33 Turkish soldiers in northern Syria, Turkey is demanding support from NATO and the international community. “We are calling on the whole international community to do its duty,” said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s communications director Fahrettin Altun last night.
Erdogan’s ruling AKP spokesman, Ömer Celik, said on television that NATO must stand with Turkey. At the same time, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency, he barely veiled opening the borders to the refugees in the country: “Our refugee policy is the same, but we have a situation here. We can no longer keep the refugees,” he said. There had been rumors on social media at night that Turkey had already opened its borders.
Turkish military strikes against Syrian regime
Turkey blames airstrike by Syrian military for soldiers’ death. Altun’s statement said that Turkey is attacking “all known regime goals” in response to ground and air forces. Celik said: “The murderous regime and those who encourage it will pay the price for this wickedness in the hardest way.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the parties to the conflict in northwest Syria to de-escalate. They would have to mitigate the “dangerous situation” and prevent the “terrible humanitarian situation” in the region from worsening, said Stoltenberg, according to his spokeswoman Oana Lungescu. The NATO Secretary General had previously spoken to the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
At least 36 injured soldiers
At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in the air raid in Idlib, a province in the north of Syria. Border Province Hatay governor Rahmi Dogan said 36 injured were also being treated in hospitals.
Idlib is the last major rebel area in the civil war country. The situation there recently escalated. Turkey supports Islamist rebels in the conflict. It had reached an agreement with Russia, the Syrian government’s protecting power, to set up a de-escalation zone in Idlib and set up observation posts there. A ceasefire actually applies. In recent weeks, however, the Syrian military has continued to advance in the area with Russian support. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing violence.
Insider: Turkey no longer stops refugees
According to a high-ranking insider, Turkey will no longer prevent Syrian refugees from fleeing to Europe by land or sea. The Turkish police, coast guard and border guards have been instructed to hold back, the insider added. Turkey has taken in 3.7 million refugees from the Syrian civil war in recent years, but recently closed its borders.
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