Syrian regime attacks Turkish-held airport in Idlib

Civil defence crews conduct search and rescue works after air strikes hit residential areas in Idlib, Syria on 30 January 2020 [Izzeddin Idilb/ Anadolu Agency]

Syrian regime jets targeted the Taftanaz military airport in Idlib on Thursday morning, just hours after the Turkish army set up a military base there.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry in Ankara made it clear that Turkey expects Russia to stop the Syrian regime’s attacks in Idlib. A Russian delegation will visit Turkey to discuss the situation in Idlib, it added; Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin will meet after that if it is deemed necessary.

Earlier on Thursday morning, a Turkish army convoy consisting of dozens of military vehicles, troop carriers, tanks and soldiers arrived at the airport. Turkey’s aim is to block the progress of Syrian regime forces and their Russian allies.

Also on Thursday, the Kremlin said that attacks by militants against regime forces and Russia’s military infrastructure have continued in the zone in Idlib governorate for which Turkey is responsible.

READ: Syria regime forces edge closer to Idlib

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.