Turkey ignoring clinics treating wounded militants: Report

Militants fighting against the government in Syria say a network of illegal clinics in Turkey is providing medical assistance to them but the Turkish government is aware of their activities.

According to a report on the online news portal Middle East Eye, injured militants cross the Syrian border into Turkey and receive private treatment at the medical centers.

“There are no adult women here, and the clinic mainly caters to men aged 20 to 40 who have come from the Syrian towns of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo,” the report said.

It cited the director of one of the clinics, identified only as Fahet, as saying that the activities of his clinic, which is operating without a permit, were known to Turkish officials, who nevertheless took no action against it.

“The Turkish authorities are aware of the clinic’s existence, but they never create trouble,” he was quoted as saying.

The clinic provides medical services to the wounded militants so they can return to the battlefields, the report further said.

“When I’m 100 percent recovered, I’ll be ready to go back and fight again,” said Somar, a 23-year-old militant, stressing that the level of care has been good and professional.

The clinics are said to have advanced facilities despite shady exteriors. There are gleaming white walls, plasma TVs and comfortable beds inside them, according to reports.

“In Turkish hospitals, there is always a facilitator for the fighters, each one in charge of a different brigade. His job is to provide you with documents and a kimlik (Turkish residence permits that allow medical treatments),” another militant, identified as Shadi Shekri, said.

Syria, which has been facing militancy since March 2011, has long accused certain regional countries, including Turkey, of aiding and abetting the militants operating against Damascus.

Syrian Army fights terrorists in Aleppo 

On Friday, the Syrian Army battled Daesh terrorists near Aleppo city and al-Qaeda-affiliate Nusra Front and allied terrorists nearby, a London-based monitor said.

Fierce fighting raged between government troops and Daesh terrorists to the east of Khanasir southeast of Aleppo city, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The army is trying to recapture several areas seized by Daesh on Thursday near Khanasir, the Britain-based monitor said.

Meanwhile, troops and volunteer forces battled al-Nusra Front and allied terrorists around Handarat north of Aleppo city, it added.

The Syrian army and its allies have mounted an operation to liberate Aleppo from foreign-backed Takfiri militants because the fight against Daesh and al-Nusra is excluded from the truce. 

Syrian state media said Friday a government delegation has arrived to join the new round of UN-mediated peace talks with an umbrella opposition group that began this week in Geneva.

The arrival of the Damascus team, led by Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, added new momentum to efforts to put an end to the conflict.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday, at least 30,000 civilians have fled Daesh violence in northern Syria in the past 48 hours, urging Turkey to open its borders to them.

“As civilians flee ISIS fighters, Turkey is responding with live ammunition instead of compassion,” said HRW researcher Gerry Simpson, using an acronym for Daesh.

A February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research said the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond Syria’s borders.

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