Turkish troops support Free Syrian Army advance in Idlib, says Erdogan

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the Free Syrian Army is advancing quietly in the northern province of Idlib, as planned and with support from the Turkish army.

“There are serious attempts to establish a state along the northern border of Syria,” the President told a meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party). He warned that if Ankara keeps silent on the issue, such attempts will succeed. “We have to block the terrorist belt to be built from the east of Syria to the Mediterranean. If we allow this project to be implemented, we will face events similar to those that took place in Kobani.”

This was a reference to the conflict involving Kurds and others in the city. Erdogan stressed that he will never allow Turkey to be encircled in the face of threats coming from Iraq and Syria.

On Saturday night, the Turkish army continued its military operations in Hatay province, south of the border with Syria, as part of its preparations to enter the northern province of Idlib as agreed, in order to reduce tensions in the area. Turkish commanders deployed around 30 armoured personnel carriers and howitzers at a number of border posts in the province.

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mouloud Jawish Oglu, warned on Saturday that Turkey’s goal of deploying forces in Idlib was to “completely stop the clashes and prepare for the political process in the country.”

Read: Opposition says 150 civilians killed in Russian, Syrian raids on Idlib