Turkish forces must remain in Idlib until threat over: Minister
istanbul — Turkey must be present in Syria’s Idlib province until the threat from there towards Turkey is over, Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli was reported as saying by CNN Turk and other broadcasters on Tuesday.
Turkey has said it will provide assistance to rebels it has long backed as it implements a de-escalation agreement to reduce fighting in Idlib. A Turkish army reconnaissance team scouted the region on Sunday before an expected military operation.
Turkey’s military operations in Syria’s rebel-held province of Idlib aim to prevent a wave of migration into Turkey, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday.
“The reason for our activities is to prepare the groundwork and prevent a potential migrant wave into our country and lower tensions,” Yildirim told a parliamentary meeting of the ruling AK Party.
Yildirim also said Turkey aimed to create control points in Idlib for future deployments, and that the activities of the armed forces in Idlib would help prevent internal conflicts between civilians and militant groups in the region.
Syrian rebels backed by Turkey are engaged in a “serious operation” in Idlib province, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, part of a joint mission with Russia and Iran to monitor a ceasefire agreement and pacify a rebel stronghold in northwest Syria.
Turkey also beefed up troops on the border since the three countries agreed in Astana, Kazakhtan to establish a combat-free zone in Idlib — largely controlled by former Al Qaeda militants — and to monitor any violations by opposition groups or forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. It isn’t clear when Turkish troops will cross the Syrian border.
On Saturday, Free Syrian Army rebels, riding on the back of trucks with automatic weapons, crossed into Idlib via Turkey as troops received orders about where they will be deployed in Syria, Hurriyet newspaper reported. Erdogan said Turkish troops haven’t yet crossed the border and the operation was carried out by the FSA rebels. The troops had earlier clashed their way to retake Syrian town of Al Bab from Daesh.
There is a “serious operation underway in Idlib and it will continue,” Erdogan said in a televised address to ruling AK Party members in Afyon.
“We can’t leave our brothers who had fled Aleppo to the mercy of terrorist organisations.”
By joining the Idlib mission, Turkey is “de facto agreeing to the transition of power for Assad,” Talha Kose, an analyst with the Ankara-based Foundation for Political and Social Research, said at a conference on Syria in Istanbul on Thursday. “It is a very risky area
there is a serious operation underway in Idlib and it will continue. We can’t leave our brothers who had fled aleppo to the mercy of terrorist organisations.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Turkey’s President
— Turkey may face a backlash from moderate rebels if it can’t deliver humanitarian services” and may also “come under pressure” from Russia and Iran to eliminate militants, he said.
Turkey’s goal will be to prevent violations of the ceasefire agreement, deliver aid to civilians and pacify groups including the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told state-run TRT television on Thursday, referring to the Al Qaeda-linked militants. It is unclear where Iranian forces would be stationed.
A successful mission would help Assad focus on fighting Daesh Syria, Emre Ersen, an analyst at Istanbul’s Marmara University, said. In addition to HTS fighters, Idlib contains factions of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army who fought against the Syrian president. — Reuters, Bloomberg