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Turkey and Russia are heading for open confrontation

A Syrian army helicopter was shot down in Idlib province on Tuesday. Picture: EPA

Turkey and Russia are heading for confrontation – 4 points for the new escalation in Syria

What happened?

In Syria, Russia and Turkey are heading for an open confrontation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday threatened Russian-backed Syrian troops to pay a high price for attacks on his country’s soldiers.

The government in Moscow, on the other hand, demanded that all attacks on Russian and Syrian forces in the rebel province of Idlib be stopped. The Syrian military said it would respond to Turkish attacks.

The Russian news agency TASS reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to call Erdogan on Tuesday.

How did it escalate?

The situation worsened on Monday after five Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack by Syrian troops. In addition, Turkish-Russian talks to end the fighting ended without concrete results. Erdogan announced that he would present a plan for Idlib on Wednesday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Image: AP

On Tuesday, Syrian troops took control of the strategically important M5 trunk road between Aleppo and Damascus. This has been dominated by rebels since 2012.

Rebels supported by Turkey then launched a counterattack and advanced to the city of Nairab. A representative of the Turkish military said the rebels launched a “full-blown attack” on an M5 hub.

Which sides are Turkey and Russia exactly on?

The whole conflict in Syria is very complicated. Who is fighting exactly whom is often not so clear. Basically, Turkey can support rebels in Idlib, while Russia and Iran are on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops.

The development will also undermine the ceasefire agreed by Russia and Turkey.

Here you can find more information about the Turkish offensive:

Will there be a new wave of refugees now?

Maybe. In view of the fighting, the UN warned of a surge in the wave of refugees in Idlib in northwestern Syria.

As a result of the civil war that broke out in 2011, 3.6 million Syrians have fled to Turkey. According to Erdogan, his country cannot accept any more people. However, more people have been displaced in the past ten weeks than ever before.

“This is the fastest growing displacement that we have ever seen in this country,” said Jens Laerke from the United Nations aid organization Okha. Almost 700,000 people, mainly women and children, have fled since December. If fighting continues in the areas around Idlib and Aleppo, another 280,000 people could follow. (Dfr / SDA / REU)

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