Turkey will hit Syrian gov't forces 'anywhere' if troops hurt, Erdoğan warns

Duvar English / Reuters

PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 12 Turkish military would strikeSyrian forces by air or ground “anywhere” in Syria if anotherTurkish soldier was hurt as the Syrian government fought to regaincontrol of northwestern Idlib province from rebels.

"Ifthere is the smallest injury to our soldiers on the observation postsor other places, I am declaring from here that we will hit the regimeforces everywhere from today, regardless of Idlib's borders or thelines of the Sochi agreement," Erdoğan said, referring to a2018 ceasefire accord.

"Wewill do this by any means necessary, by air or ground, withouthesitating," he told members of his ruling Justice andDevelopment Party (AKP) in Ankara.

Erdoğan said Turkey was determined to push the Syrian troops beyond Turkish observation posts in Idlib by the end this month and that Ankara would not allow rebels in Idlib to give them an excuse to attack.

Erdoğan’s remarks came after five Turkish troops were killed and five injured in an attack by Syrian forces in Idlib on Feb. 10, following a similar attack last week killing seven soldiers and a civilian contractor working with the Turkish military.

Thousands of civilians meanwhile were heading north to the Turkish-Syrian border, many trudging by foot through snow in freezing temperatures, to escape air strikes and artillery barrages by the Russian-supported government forces.

Syriantroops and Iranian-backed militias have been advancing in Idlib in acampaign to destroy the last bastion of insurgents fighting for pastnine years to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

Theoffensive has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people, in thebiggest single wave of displacement of the conflict, leaving themdesperate for shelter amid atrocious weather conditions.

Turkey hasset up 12 observation posts in Idlib as part of an agreement withRussia and Iran to establish what they called a de-escalation zone.

This month Ankara - which has the second-largest army in NATO - has poured some 5,000 troops and convoys of military vehicles across the border into Idlib, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and radar equipment to bolster its positions.

Kremlinspokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow remained committed to its dealwith Ankara on Syria but that Russia considered militant attacks inIdlib unacceptable.

"The Turkish side undertook to ensure that terrorist groups in Idlib were neutralized," he told reporters. "These groups are carrying out strikes from Idlib on Syrian forces and also taking aggressive action against our military facilities."

TheTurkish military casualties have sparked some of the most seriousconfrontations between Ankara and Damascus in the war, which haskilled hundreds of thousands of people and made millions refugees,including 3.6 million Syrians in Turkey.

Ankara says it cannot handle another wave of refugees.

Damascusand Moscow say the attacks are targeting hardline Islamist militantswho control Idlib. Turkey says they are hitting civilians.

Meanwhile,Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdoğan agreed in a phone callon Feb. 12 the sides would continue contacts on Syria, the Kremlinsaid.

“Theimportance was noted of the full implementation of existingRussian-Turkish agreements,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Erdoğansaid he discussed with Putin the issue of the Turkish casualties.