Image: aa.com.tr
The Turkish military will use heavy weapons against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib if necessary, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on October 21.
“Operations are going on in very sensitive locations in our region. We will not back down. We continue the process in Syria,” Sputnik quoted Erdogan as saying. “I do now know what steps the Syrian regime will take but we will do whatever is needed in Idlib, we will respond with all our heavy weapons. We will not leave the situation as it is.”
In the last few weeks, the Turkish military deployed large reinforcements and established two new positions in Greater Idlib, where a ceasefire brokered last year is being violated by Ankara’s allies on a daily basis.
Erdogan’s threats are clearly meant to deter the SAA and its allies, who are preparing to launch a ground operation in Greater Idlib, according to recent reports.
At the same time, Turkey is reportedly preparing to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, mainly in the northern countryside of Aleppo. The SAA is present in the region.
A military confrontation between the Turkish military and the SAA in Greater Idlib, or the northern Aleppo countryside seems close.
Russia has been working to de-escalate the situation. Nevertheless, Turkey is not backing down. In fact, Ankara appears to be seeking a new military confrontation in Syria, likely to distract the Turkish people from the bad economic situation.
