Two Turkish soldiers were killed and five others injured on Thursday (February 20) in an air strike at Idlib in northwestern Syria. This clash brings to sixteen (fifteen soldiers and one contract) the number of Turkish soldiers killed since the beginning of February in the last stronghold of the Syrian rebellion, the scene of incessant clashes between the forces of Bashar Al-Assad, supported by the Russian air force , and the Syrian rebellion, supported by the Turkish army.
Thursday’s scuffles attest to an additional escalation between Turkey and Syria that threatens the Russian-Turkish relationship. The strike took place after the Syrian rebels, supported by the Turkish army, bombed the positions of the Syrian government forces and entered the village of Al-Nerab, not far from the city of Saraqeb, that the forces of ‘Assad had taken in early February.
According to a statement from the Russian defense ministry, released on Thursday, the rebels, “Supported by Turkish artillery”, managed to break through the defenses of the Syrian army. Four Syrian soldiers were injured in the bombing.
“At the request of the Syrian army, Russian Su-24 bombers then struck the rebels to prevent them from advancing “, which allowed pro-Assad forces to push back “Successfully all attacks”, specifies the press release. The Turkish side is called “To stop supporting the actions of terrorist groups and to give them arms”.
It is not explicitly said whether it was the Russian airstrikes that killed the two Turkish soldiers, but the fact that Moscow publicly admits to having struck the positions of the Syrian rebels and their Turkish allies against a backdrop of deadly clash is serious warning sent to Ankara.
The offensive led by Bashar Al-Assad’s forces in Idlib province is a disaster for Turkey. The Syrian regime is progressing inexorably, thanks to the support of the Russian air force and its scorched earth policy.
” Last warning “
Along the M5 motorway, which connects the south of the country with the city of Aleppo in the north, and has just been taken over by the rebellion, a village remains intact. All the residents fled. Since December 2019, almost a third of the population of Idlib has been displaced. To escape the violence, 900,000 civilians massed along the Turkish border, closed by a wall, because Turkey is reluctant to add to the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it already hosts.
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