At least 33 Turkish soldiers died in airstrikes in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib, an official said Friday, amid an unprecedented escalation in the battle for the country’s last opposition stronghold.
Governor Rahmi Dogan of the Turkish province of Hatay, which borders Idlib, said wounded soldiers being treated in hospital were not in a life-threatening condition.
Blaming the attack on Syrian government jets, he said the casualties were brought across the border from the Cilvegozu crossing.
There was no announcement from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who chaired an emergency security meeting lasting several hours into early Friday to discuss the situation in Idlib, where Syrian government forces backed by Russian airpower have steadily advanced.
“It was agreed in the meeting to retaliate in kind against the illegitimate regime that has pointed its gun against our soldiers,” said Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan’s communications director.
That retaliation was under way via air and land, he said.
The meeting concluded that “the Assad regime is responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands of Syrians,” referring to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“We call on the international community, particularly the parties to the Astana process, to fulfil their responsibilities, to stop the regime’s crimes against humanity,” Altun said in a statement.
Turkey, Russia and Iran are the guarantors of the so-called Astana peace process launched in Kazakhstan in January 2017 to end the Syrian war.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke by phone with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, state news agency Anadolu reported, while Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin spoke with US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien.
The attack marks the single largest death toll in a day of Turkish soldiers in Idlib.
Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, told dpa that 34 Turkish soldiers were killed and tens of others wounded when warplanes and Syrian government shelling hit their convoy in Jabal al-Zawiya, which is south of the town of Saraqeb.
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels recaptured Saraqeb, a strategic town in Idlib that was taken over by government forces, the observatory said on Thursday.
Saraqeb – located on a highway linking the capital Damascus and the northern province of Aleppo – was retaken after fierce battles between Syrian government forces and rebels backed by Turkish artillery, according to the Britain-based watchdog.
Saraqeb, the second-largest city after Maaret al-Numaan in Idlib, was captured by Syrian government forces earlier this month.
Hours earlier, Erdogan said: “In Idlib, developments have turned to our advantage right now. … The regime forces have suffered a very big loss. Our struggle there continues.”
In late April, the Syrian government, backed by Russia, launched an offensive to seize the region from rebels.
Ankara and Moscow – who support opposing sides in Syria’s war – reached a deal in Sochi in 2018 to create a demilitarized zone around Idlib and stave off a Syrian offensive.
But even their latest ceasefire reached in January collapsed.
Erdogan has given an end-of-the-month ultimatum for Syrian government forces to stop besieging Turkish observation posts in Idlib that were set up under the deal with Russia.
“Time’s almost up,” Erdogan said on Wednesday. “We plan to free our besieged observation towers, one way or another, by the end of this month,” he said, reiterating a threat to Damascus to retreat.
Several of Ankara’s observation posts are now behind Syrian government lines following gains by its army. Ankara has been strengthening its posts and sending troops and military hardware into Idlib in the face of Syrian advances.
The most pressing concern for Turkey, which hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees, is the influx of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Idlib to its border.
Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said: “Turkey can no longer hold the refugee influx from Idlib at our border.” (dpa)
