Turkish Defense Minister Personally Supervising Idlib Operation From Border - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2020) Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has arrived at a command center in the border province of Hatay to personally supervise Turkey's military operations against Syrian government troops in Idlib, media reported on Friday.

Late on Thursday, Hatay Governor Rahmi Dogan said that 33 Turkish servicemen had been killed and dozens injured in an airstrike conducted by the Syrian government forces in Idlib. Shortly after, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened an urgent meeting attended by the heads of security agencies and the foreign minister to discuss security issues.

According to the Anadolu news agency, after this meeting Akar arrived at the command center in Hatay to supervise together with top commanders the military's ground and air operations in Syria.

In December, Syrian government forces launched an offensive to recapture areas of Idlib province, the last remaining rebel stronghold in the country.

Pockets of the area are controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia).

Tensions further escalated after Syrian troops shelled a Turkish observation point on February 3, killing seven military personnel and one civilian contractor. Turkey responded with a number of retaliatory strikes.

Earlier in February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Turkey had not fulfilled several key commitments on Idlib, including its failure to distinguish between the armed opposition, which is ready for dialogue with the government within the framework of the political process, and terrorists. In turn, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay has said that Ankara had fulfilled its obligations.