We take a look at what sparked Turkey's military operation, Spring Shield, in Syria's flashpoint Idlib province For more updates:
Regime airport, jets destroyed
"We have no intention to confront Russia but we want to stop the Assad regime's massacre of civilians. Our target is only regime forces and elements attacking our troops," he added. Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler and commanders of Turkish Land and Air Forces monitored latest developments along the border, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene.
He underlined that the humanitarian crisis in the region will be deepened as the regime continues its attacks. Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara wants the United States to send Patriot missiles to Turkey for back-up in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib. Speaking to AK Party members at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Erdogan also said over 2,100 regime soldiers have been killed and over 300 of their vehicles have been destroyed by the Turkish military.
Speaking at an emergency meeting on Idlib, Sinirlioglu warned the regime not to make the mistake of targeting Turkish troops directly. Turkey destroyed 387 troops, 31 tanks, 5 helicopters, 10 armoured vehicles in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. A senior State Department official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said that Washington is looking urgently to support Ankara with information-sharing and equipment.
Syrian regime has close coordination with the Russian government over air and missile strikes, the official added. Turkey's Communication Director, Fahrettin Altun, said both leaders had agreed to meet "as soon as possible."US President Trump "expressed his condolences and condemned" a bombardment by Russian-backed Syrian regime forces on Thursday that killed 33 Turkish soldiers, the White House said in a statement.
"The chancellor condemned the ruthless attacks on Turkish troops and called for an end to the offensive operations of the Syrian regime and its supporters," said Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert, following the German leader's telephone conversation with Turkish President Erdogan. Fahrettin Altun said Erdogan told Putin that the current refugee situation along the Turkish borders was due to Syrian regime’s negligence and deliberate acts.
Also on Friday, Turkish officials told a visiting Russian delegation that Idlib ceasefire must be established immediately and that Syrian regime must pull back to pre-determined borders.NATO calls on Russia, Syria to halt Idlib offensive The attack on Turkish troops occurred although the location of our forces was known by Russia, Akar said.
It was quoted as saying Ankara failed to notify Moscow of the presence of Turkish troops in the area hit by shelling despite being in regular communication with the Russian military.Greece has tightened sea and land borders with Turkey after developments overnight in the Syrian region of Idlib, government sources said on Friday.
"The North Atlantic Council, which includes the ambassadors of all 29 NATO allies, will meet on Friday 28 February following a request by Turkey to hold consultations under article 4 of NATO's founding Washington Treaty on the situation in Syria," the alliance said in a statement. After the 2012 incidents NATO agreed to deploy Patriot missile batteries in Turkey as a defensive measure.In the aftermath of the attack, internet users in Turkey reported slow-downs and problems accessing social media sites. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram became unreachable around 2030 GMT and the internet restrictions continued into the next day.
She described a video conversation last week with 14 Syrian women in Idlib and northern Aleppo who are humanitarian workers and said what is happening “is beyond imagination” and “not humanly tolerable.”"I wish Allah's mercy to martyred soldiers and extend my condolences to their families and our nation. Allah bless our soldiers," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party , said on Twitter.
Turkish Armed Forces have destroyed a total of 1,709 regime targets in operations in Idlib since February 10, 2020, security sources shared on Thursday night.
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