Defence Minister Hulusi Akar says Turkey will not vacate any of its 12 observation posts in Idlib and warns that Turkish soldiers are under orders to retaliate forcefully to regime attacks on any of its military posts
A Turkish soldier walks near Turkish military vehicles in Hazano near Idlib, Syria, February 11, 2020.
“In the event of any action against them, they have been given instructions to retaliate even more powerfully," Akar said. “In the event anything happens, there will be retaliation. We expect the regime to not take any action under any circumstances.” Syria’s Idlib region near the border with Turkey and parts of nearby Aleppo are the last opposition-held bastion in the war-ravaged country.
With backing from Russia, regime troops have been on the offensive for weeks in Idlib and parts of Aleppo, triggering a humanitarian crisis with some 700,000 people fleeing their homes and surging north toward the Turkish border. “We want [them] to stop these regime attacks immediately, to [ensure] the ceasefire is complied with and in turn, for the people to return to their homes, their land,” the minister said.
Akar spoke hours before he was due to depart Ankara for a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels.
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