Turkey targets 2 Syrian planes over Idlib as tensions mount
Turkey said it was continuing military operation against Russian-backed Syrian regime in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region but insisted it did not wish to clash with Moscow
Syrian state media said Turkish forces “targeted” two of its planes over the embattled rebel bastion of Idlib in northwest Syria on Sunday.
The planes were “downed,” according to a rebel group and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.
Atate news agency SANA says the jets were targeted over the Idlib region, and that the pilots ejected with parachutes and landed safely.
The announcement came amid a military escalation in Syria’s Idlib province that has led to growing direct clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces.
It also came shortly after Syria announced it was closing its airspace for any flights or drones across the country’s northwest. It said any aircraft that penetrates Syrian airspace will be treated as hostile and shot down.
Turkey said it was continuing a military operation against the Russian-backed Syrian regime in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region but insisted it did not wish to clash with Moscow.
Though Turkey has reported striking targets in Syria since dozens of its troops were killed there on Thursday, it was the first confirmation of a full and continuing operation.
“Following the heinous attack on Feb.27 in Idlib, operation ‘Spring Shield’ successfully continues,” Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a televised speech.
“We don’t have the desire or intention to clash with Russia,” the minister added. Thirty-four Turkish troops have been killed in Syria since Thursday.
“Our intention is to stop the regime’s massacres, and prevent... migration,” he said.
“We expect Russia to stop the regime’s attacks and to use their influence to ensure the regime withdraws to the borders of the Sochi agreement.”
Turkey has 12 observation posts established in rebel-held Idlib following a 2018 deal between Ankara and Moscow signed in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
But the regime recently has pressed ahead with an assault, killing hundreds of civilians and forcing nearly a million to flee from their homes in the region.
Rebel-supporter Turkey and Damascus ally Russia previously worked closely to prevent a regime offensive in Idlib despite being on opposing sides of the nine-year war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month warned Damascus to get behind the agreed borders otherwise Ankara would use military force to push the regime back.
Akar said Turkish forces had destroyed dozens of tanks, helicopters and howitzers, adding 2,212 regime troops had been “neutralised.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, 26 Syrian soldiers were killed in Turkish drone strikes on Saturday.
Erdogan on Saturday called on Russia to “get out of our way” in Idlib and leave Turkey “face to face with the regime” in Idlib.
The latest developments has strained relations between Ankara and Moscow but Erdogan will likely meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on Thursday or Friday, according to the Kremlin.
“Syrian military high command announces the closure of the airspace for planes and any drone above northwestern Syria and especially above the Idlib region,” state news agency SANA reported a military source as saying.
“Any aircraft breaching our airspace will be treated as enemy aircraft that needs to be downed and prevented from carrying out its goals,” the source said. Turkey, meanwhile, said it was pursuing a military operation dubbed “Spring Shield” in northwest Syria after regime air strikes on Thursday killed 34 Turkish soldiers.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish drone strikes killed 26 soldiers in northwest Syria on Saturday.
That brought the number of soldiers killed in Turkish drone strikes and bombardment since Friday to 74, said the Britain-based monitor, which relies on sources inside Syria.
Ten Hizbollah fighters and four allied militiamen also died, the Observatory said.
Since December, Russia-backed regime forces have led a military offensive against the last major rebel stronghold of Idlib in northwest Syria, where Turkey supports some rebel groups.
The onslaught has caused almost a million people - mostly women and children - to flee their homes and shelters, the United Nations says.