Daily US Times, Syria: A minimum of 36 Turkish soldiers have been killed in an air raid by Syrian gov’t forces within the northwestern Idlib province. The governor within the southeastern province of Hatay mentioned early on Friday. Elevating an earlier death toll, whereas also threatening an escalation of battle and another refugee crisis.

The deaths are the biggest variety of fatalities suffered by Turkey in a single day because it started sending 1000’s of troops into Idlib in current weeks, amid a Russia-backed Syrian gov’t offensive to grab the war-torn nation’s last opposition-held stronghold, which is home to more than 3 million people.

A safety meeting is being held on the presidential palace after the “nefarious attack in opposition to heroic soldiers in Idlib who had been there to make sure our nationwide safety,” according to an announcement from Turkish director of communications Fahrettin Altun.

News Wrap: 36 Turkish soldiers killed in Syrian airstrike on Idlib

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg following the Syrian attack, in response to a press release released by the ministry. There have been no additional particulars concerning the content of the decision.
The Syrian gov’t has not commented on the Turkish declare.

Following the attack, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a two-hour emergency security meeting in Ankara that was attended by ministers and army officers.

Individually, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke by telephone with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, according to local media.

The Turkish military is retaliating with artillery fire at Syrian gov’t targets in Syria.

Syrian gov’t targets are under fire by Turkish air

“All recognized” Syrian gov’t targets are under fire by Turkish air and land help models, Turkey’s communications director Fahrettin Altun mentioned on Friday, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

Turkey has determined to “respond in kind” to the attack by the Syrian gov’t, Altun added

Attacks on Turkish forces have brought on extreme tensions between the Syrian authorities’ key ally, Russia, and Turkey, which backs certain opposition teams in Idlib.

Erdogan has beforehand pledged to launch an army operation to push back Syrian gov’t forces if they didn’t retreat from a line of Turkish observations posts by the tip of February.

In the meantime, a Turkish official told Reuters News Agency that Turkey’s police, coastguard and border security officers had been ordered in opposition to trying to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, in anticipation of an imminent arrival from Idlib.

Middle East Eye also reported that Turkey will open its Idlib border and permit refugees free passage to Europe.

3.6 million Syrian refugees host by Turkey

Turkey already hosts more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees and fears a new inflow, mentioned Al Jazeera‘s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from the Turkish-Syrian border.

“Within the coming days, to see Turkey take an aggressive role and ask the European Union and NATO, particularly, to take a really strong stance in relation to what is going on now in Idlib,” he added.

“Turkey feels that it’s fighting this fight by itself whereas it considers what’s doing an try to put a finish to the humanitarian [crisis in Idlib].”

The ferocious bombing campaign and ground assault have displaced practically a million people since December, greater than half of whom are kids.

Rahmi Dogan, the governor of Turkey’s southeastern province of Hatay earlier announced in televised remarks that 22 soldiers had been killed.

Turkish soldiers are within the last rebel-held area of Syria as a part of a 2018 de-escalation settlement between Ankara and Moscow. The Syrian gov’t, backed by Russia, has mounted an aggressive air campaign in opposition to rebels in Idlib in current weeks.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the last opposition-held territory in Syria within the last two months, per UN figures, within the wake of an air campaign and swift ground offensive by the Syrian regime and its Russian backers.

Tens of thousands are still on the transfer, and practically 700,000 of the displaced are girls and kids, the UN mentioned.

Turkey: “Developments in Idlib have now turned to our favour” – Erdogan

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