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Turkey sends another military convoy to de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib

Friday, 03 April 2020 6:18 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 03 April 2020 6:48 PM ]

Turkish military convoy drives on a highway linking Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib to the Arab country’s Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on March 31, 2020. (File photo by AFP)

Turkey has dispatched new reinforcements to Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, as Ankara beefs up its military presence in the embattled region following a ceasefire reached earlier this month with Moscow to halt an escalation of violence there, says the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The Britain-based war monitor, citing activists requesting anonymity, reported that a Turkish convoy, consisting of nearly 35 military vehicles, crossed into the Syrian territory through Kafr Lusin border crossing on Friday afternoon, and headed toward Turkish positions.

On Thursday, Turkish forces shelled Syrian army positions in Arab Hassan village, west of Manbij city.

Local sources, requesting not to be named, told the Observatory that two senior Syrian officers were injured in the shelling.

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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on March 13 that the Russian and Turkish militaries had agreed on the details of a new ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation zone following four days of talks in Ankara.

Akar said the first joint patrol by Turkey and Russia on the M4 highway in Idlib would take place on March 15, and that Turkey and Russia will set up joint coordination centers in the area.

Turkey, Russia flesh out Syria ceasefire deal: Ankara

Turkey and Russia agree to begin joint patrols along a key highway in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib as part of a ceasefire agreement, Turkey’s defense minister says.

The announcement followed a telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan the previous day to discuss the implementation of the agreements the two leaders had reached in Moscow the previous week.

“Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed the importance of continued close joint efforts, first of all between the Russian and Turkish defense ministries, in order to ensure a stable ceasefire and further stabilization of the situation,” a Kremlin press release read.

“It was agreed to maintain a regular dialogue at various levels, including personal contacts,” the statement added.

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