Tue 04 February 2020:
Turkey has conducted strikes against 57 Assad regime targets, neutralizing 76 Syrian regime troops, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said late Monday.
“Turkey informed Russian authorities that armed reinforcements would arrive twice Sunday, at 4:13 p.m. and 10:27 p.m., yet regime attacks continued,” the minister added.
Akar and top military commanders, including Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler, traveled to the Turkish border province of Hatay earlier on the same day to inspect developments in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.
Visiting troops deployed on the border, Akar said: “No one should have any doubt that the necessary steps will be taken [to defend against attacks on the Turkish military] in the region.”
Akar received a detailed briefing on developments in the region from commanders overseeing units positioned along the border.
Commander of the Turkish Land Forces Gen. Ümit Dündar and Commander of the Turkish Air Force Gen. Hasan Küçükakyüz, accompanied Akar on the visit.
Warning
Turkey has warned Russian authorities to avoid confrontation with the Turkish military in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, as the country retaliates the Bashar Assad regime’s recent attack that killed five Turkish soldiers, and a civilian staff and left seven others wounded, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday. On the same day, the defense ministry announced the cancelation of a scheduled Turkish-Russian joint patrol in Syria’s Ayn al-Arab province shortly after a statement from Moscow, which was later rejected by Turkish officials.
The president noted that Turkish officials have spoken with Russian authorities regarding the situation in Idlib and have told them to avoid confronting Turkish forces in the area during an operation to prevent incessant attacks by the Assad regime.
Erdoğan noted that Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has already spoken with his Russian counterpart, while Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) head Hakan Fidan are planning to discuss the issue with their counterparts.
“More importantly, if we do not see the desired results then I will speak with my counterpart and convey to him the critical nature of the matter,” the president said.
He continued by adding that the ongoing Turkish operation is being carried out based on frequent correspondence between Turkish and Russian generals on the ground.
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