REBELS THANK TURKISH FIGHTERS AFTER COUNTER-ATTACK RETAKES IDLIB TOWN
▶ Regime forces driven out of ‘gateway’ to Saraqib in first reversal since latest push in Syria’s north-west
Syrian rebels backed by the Turkish military seized the town of Al Nayrab in Idlib, north-west Syria, Turkish and rebel officials said yesterday. It is the first area to be taken back from Syrian government forces who have advanced into the province.
“With the help of our Turkish friends, we have regained control of the strategic town of Al Nayrab, the gateway of Saraqib,” Yusef Hamoud, spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Army, told Reuters.
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s forces, supported by Russian air power, are trying to retake the last large rebel-held region in Syria after almost nine years of war.
On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would hold a four-party summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 5 to discuss the escalating violence in northern Syria. He said Turkey had set out a road map for Syria after calls to the three leaders.
But yesterday, before travelling to Azerbaijan, he said “there is no full agreement” on holding the meeting.
The Turkish leader said he might instead hold face-to-face talks with Mr Putin on March 5, either in Istanbul or in Ankara.
Despite supporting opposing sides in the conflict, Turkey and Russia have worked together to contain the violence in Syria, but the latest flare-up has strained ties between the two countries.
On Monday, the UN warned of an imminent bloodbath as the fighting drew close to encampments where civilians have fled the months-long offensive.
Five civilians were killed as regime forces seized “several towns and villages” south of the M4 motorway, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Nearly a million Syrians have been displaced by the latest fighting.
The Red Cross yesterday called on the warring sides in Idlib to allow safe passage for civilians to escape attacks and reminded them that hospitals, markets and schools are protected by law.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops and weapons into the region to support the rebels. A Turkish security official said that Ankara’s military had supported the rebel offensive with shelling and that bomb-disposal teams and the rebels were now clearing Al Nayrab.
Their next goal was to capture the strategic town of Saraqib, where Syria’s main north-south motorway linking Damascus and Aleppo meets the road west to the Mediterranean.
“This will happen soon. The regime suffered heavy losses in the clashes last night. Also, a serious amount of weapons and ammunition was seized,” the Turkish official said.
He said there had been no clashes between Turkish and Russian forces in Monday’s advance on Al Nayrab and that no Turkish soldiers had been killed.
Two weeks ago, the Turkish Defence Ministry said Syrian government forces briefly abandoned Al Nayrab as the Turkey-backed rebels advanced on the town.
But the rebels were subsequently pushed back from the area.
Turkey already hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot handle another influx and has closed its borders.
The UN warned of an imminent bloodbath as the fighting drew close to encampments where civilians have fled the months-long offensive