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Turkey plans to establish eight army bases north of Syria

October 24, 2017 at 11:20 am

Turkish Army’s armoured vehicles are deployed near Syria’s Idli in Hatay, Turkey on 17 October 2017 [Cem Genco/Anadolu Agency]

The Turkish army is reported to be establishing eight army bases in Idlib, north of Syria.

Military sources told Turkey’s Yeni Safak newspaper that four locations for the military bases have already been identified.

According to the sources the first base will be at the strategically important Sheikh Barakat area, which overlooks the areas of Upper Afrin and Idlib.

The Turkish armed forces will also use both the Taftanaz Air Base and the Abu Al-Duhur Military Airbase.

Read more: 2 babies die from malnutrition in Ghouta, Syria

Moreover, the Turkish army has succeeded in controlling the Dheif region, the Syrian regime’s largest garrison in Syria.

The Turkish army’s deployment in northern Syria is in line with the Astana agreement reached between Turkey, Russia and Iran to protect the de-escalation zones and ceasefire in Idlib.

Meanwhile, Turkish officials warned the United States against handing the administration of the city of Raqqa to Syrian Kurdish factions after expelling Daesh from the city on the grounds that it would ignite sectarian conflict.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Fikri Isik said that Arabs make up more than 90 per cent of the city’s population and that handing the city’s administration to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party would spark sectarian conflict in the city.