Syria: After Erdogan's threat - Turkish and Russian air strikes again

2020-02-25T07:09:36.266Z

The tensions in the Syria conflict are increasing. On March 5, four countries, including Germany, want to meet for the Syria summit.

The civil war in Syria has been raging for nine years.
The followers of ruler Baschar al-Assad are getting more and more headwaters.
Syria summit announced on March 5th.

Update, February 25, 2020, 6:52 a.m .: According to activists, nine soldiers of the Syrian government forces were killed in Turkish airstrikes in the Syrian province of Idlib.

Russian civilians have also reportedly killed five civilians in the Jabal al-Sawia area in the south of the province, according to the Human Rights Observatory.

In December in Idlib and neighboring provinces in northwestern Syria , with the support of Russia, the Syrian army has increasingly been taking action against Islamist and jihadist militias. Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad wants to bring the last militia stronghold in the country back under his control. Turkey is on the side of Assad's opponents.

Update, Feb 24, 2020, 10:00 am: At least six people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Syria, according to activists. The victims were two Palestinians from the Islamic Jihad extremist organization and four members of pro-Iranian militias, the Syrian Human Rights Observatory said on Monday. Facilities south of the capital Damascus were bombed.

Israel's army said the attacks were aimed at Islamic jihad targets. They were a reaction to the organization's rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The latter also tried to commit a terrorist attack on the Gaza border fence.

Syria: After threats - Erdogan announces Idlib summit

Update, February 22, 2020, 5:56 pm: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a Syria summit with Russia , Germany and France on the situation in the contested Syrian province of Idlib. Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin , Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron on March 5 to "re-discuss" the situation.

In a telephone call with Merkel and Macron on Friday, Erdogan called for "concrete measures" from Germany and France to prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Idlib. In another phone call, he called on Putin to "put the troops of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in their place". According to the Federal Government, the phone call from Merkel, Macron and Erdogan was also about a four-man summit on Syria proposed by the Chancellor and the French President. As a spokesman for the federal government said, all three interlocutors pleaded for "a timely joint meeting" with Putin.

A girl is standing in a refugee camp in the city of Atme.

Merkel and Macron had already called Putin on Thursday and proposed a joint meeting with Erdogan. Moscow's stance on the proposal was initially unclear. A Kremlin spokesman said on Friday it was discussing “the possibility” of such a summit.

Syria: tensions between Turkey and Russia

Update, 02/21/2020, 8.15 p.m .: After tensions between Turkey and Russia have recently increased due to the situation in Syria , there has now been dialogue. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in a telephone call about the crisis situation in Idlib in northern Syria. The state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu reported Friday evening that Erdogan has again called for the Syrian government to hold back. Turkey is threatening a military offensive against Syrian troops in late February if they do not withdraw.

The Kremlin emphasized that it wanted to continue talking intensively with Turkey about “reducing tensions” and a ceasefire in Syria. The conversation was initiated on the initiative of Turkey, it said in a message. To avoid the humanitarian crisis, concrete action and strong support are needed, he said, according to the state news agency Anadolu.

Erdogan had previously phoned Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the state news agency Anadolu, the conversation called for concrete action and strong support to avoid the humanitarian crisis in northwest Syria.

Syria: Turk hopes for US support

Update, Feb 21, 2020, 7:00 am: Turkey is hoping for possible US support in the Syria conflict through the delivery of Patriot missiles . "There is a risk of air strikes against our country," Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Turkish television, adding that "there could be patriot support." However, he excluded direct support from US troops.

Turkish President Erdogan announces a Syria summit.

Akar also stressed that Turkey had no intention of "confronting Russia" in Syria.

Syria: After Erdogan's threat - Russia vetoed ceasefire

Update, February 20, 2020, 10:20 am: According to diplomats, Russia has voted in the UN Security Council against a declaration of a ceasefire in northwestern Syria. With this, Russia has rejected a French initiative, France's ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Rivière, said on Wednesday after the session of the highest UN body.

France called for an end to the fighting and compliance with international humanitarian law in the Syrian province of Idlib. There, the conflict between Turkey and the Russian-backed government troops under ruler Bashar al-Assad is becoming increasingly acute. Most recently, Turkish President Erdogan had threatened that a military operation was "a matter of the moment".

Update, February 19, 2020, 7:55 pm: Now the United States is also reacting to the tense situation in Syria : The US Department of Defense is concerned about the escalation between Russia and Turkey: "We are seeing that the Russians and the Turks are facing a wider conflict have come very close to the area, "Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said at a press conference on Wednesday, adding," We hope that they will find a solution to prevent this. "

A boy stands in front of a Turkish tank east of the city of Idlib.

The international community wanted to continue working to put pressure on Syria and the ruler Bashar al-Assad to end the offensive on Idlib.

Syria: Kremlin speaks of "worst case scenario"

Update, February 19, 2020, 4:55 p.m .: Russia has warned Turkey about an offensive in Syria. It was a "worst case scenario," said a Vladimir Putin spokesman in Moscow. Russia is strictly against it. The Turkish government in Ankara is still in contact to avoid tensions.

The background was a statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who described a military operation as "a matter of the moment". You can strike at any time.

Update, February 19, 2020, 12.20 p.m .: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened with an imminent military operation in the contested Syrian province of Idlib. "The Idlib operation is a matter of the moment," Erdogan said in Ankara on Wednesday. As with any military operation, you can strike at any time, said the Turkish president.

It was "the last days" for the "regime" to stop the aggression and to keep to the limits of the Sochi agreement. Turkey will not leave Idlib to the Syrian government and its supporters, he said. Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, had previously stressed that a Turkish military operation would be the worst scenario.

A Turkish military convoy brings tanks through the Syrian city of Dana.

Erdogan's reference to the Sochi Agreement refers to an agreement between Turkey as a supporter of Islamist rebels and Russia. This should create a de-escalation zone in Idlib, among others. Turkey then set up observation posts there. Nevertheless, the Syrian military launched an offensive on Idlib.

Syria: Despite Erdogan's threat - offensive on Idlib continues

Update, February 18, 2020 , 2:40 p.m .: The crisis in northwest Syria has reached a "horrific new level", said UN emergency aid coordinator Mark Lowcock. People are traumatized and forced to sleep outside in freezing temperatures because the camps are full. Babies and small children have died because of the cold, * he said. The violence also affects health facilities, schools, residential areas and markets indiscriminately.

Ruler Bashar al-Assad announced that the army would free all of Syria from "terror" and "enemies". Recent successes did not mean the end of the war: "We pushed their noses into the ground as a prelude to a complete victory." Assad had previously said that his troops would only stop once they had taken over the whole of Syria.

Syria: Erdogan threatens Assad - he is unimpressed

Update, February 17th, 2020, 10:42 pm: Syria's ruler Bashar al-Assad is unimpressed by the Turkish threats of retaliation. Assad wants to continue the offensive on the last major rebel stronghold Idlib. The fight will continue "regardless of the empty phrases from the north," Assad said in a speech broadcast on Syrian state television on Monday evening.

At the same time, the government offensive is increasing humanitarian need. According to the UN, 900,000 people are now fleeing Assad forces and violence, most of them women and children.

An elderly woman carries a child through the Washukanni camp in northern Syria.

Update, February 17, 2020, 2:00 p.m .: In the battle for Idlib , Syria's last large rebel area, the government troops of Bashar al-Assad were able to achieve further gains in the terrain. The army has brought dozens of villages west of the city of Aleppo under control, the state agency Sana reported on Monday.

Rescue workers reported that two hospitals had been hit during air strikes on Darat Issa near Aleppo and are now out of service. A spokesman for the rescue organization Weißhelme blamed Russia for the bombing of Syria's allies.

Syria: Erdogan threatens Syrian government - Donald Trump intervenes

Update, Feb 17, 2020, 9:00 am: After the escalation of the situation in Syria, US President Donald Trump is now intervening. He supports Turkey's request that Russia should no longer support the Syrian regime under Bashar al-Assad. In a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he expressed his “concern about violence” in Idlib, the White House said on Sunday. Most recently, Turkey had said that "it would know no borders," there should be further attacks on Turkish soldiers.

Russia has defended its offensive alongside the Syrian army. Russian armed forces and advisers have supported the military in the fight against terrorists, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, according to the Interfax agency. Russia regretted that these terrorists had become more active from Idlib. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened Syrian troops supported by the Russian side that they would pay a high price for attacks on Turkish soldiers. The Russian armed forces allied with Assad accused Erdogan of having committed "massacres" against the civilian population in Idlib.

Syrian armed forces in the area around al-Lirmoun, north of Aleppo.

With Russian support, the Syrian army is advancing against the rebels dominated by jihadist militias in the Idlib province. Syrian ruler Assad is determined to regain control of the region. Turkey, on the other hand, supports the rebels. In the meantime, Syrian government troops have conquered several cities and villages in the west of Aleppo province. The armed opposition in Syria is thus limited to an ever smaller area in the nearby province of Idlib, as the "Tagesschau" reports.

Syria: Assad threat - "Turkey will know no borders"

First report on February 15, 2020, 4:05 pm: Turkey has threatened retaliation for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if government troops in the contested Idlib province continue to attack the Turkish army. "The regime needs to know that: Turkey * will have no borders there should such attacks continue on our troops," said Vice President Fuat Oktay on Saturday on Turkish television. This message was also given to the Russians. While Ankara supports Islamist rebels in the region in Syria, Moscow is at the side of the Syrian ruler Assad in the conflict.

A Syrian fighter crosses the village of Miznaz, which lies in the foothills of Aleppo.

Nevertheless, Turkey and Russia * want to discuss the critical situation in the contested Syrian province of Idlib in Moscow early next week. "Our delegation will travel to Moscow on Monday," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. A Russian delegation had previously been to Ankara. If the diplomatic efforts are not fruitful, Ankara is also prepared to take the necessary measures. Attacks by Syrian troops are unacceptable.

Idlib is the last major region to be held by the Syrian rebels.
Ruler Bashar al-Assad is gaining more and more terrain with Russian help.
President Erdoğan is determined to drive the Syrian troops back.

Syria: Conflict between Turkey and Russia is coming to a head

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, however, called on Russia to end the fighting in the Idlib province. "We are very concerned that there will be a humanitarian catastrophe if the struggles that exist do not end," he said in Munich after meeting with Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Moscow had to use its influence on the Syrian government to end the fighting. “Otherwise, we expect even more people to leave the region. This is something that nobody can be interested in. "

Syria: 800,000 people on the run https://t.co/BdSwei48Q4 #Syria #Idlib

- Tagesschau (@tagesschau) February 14, 2020

Maas had recently described the situation in the Syrian Idlib as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and named Turkey , its president Erdogan * and Russia as jointly responsible. He spoke to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" about Syria *: "That mainly triggers anger and anger in me. These attacks must end. There was a Turkish-Russian de-escalation agreement there. Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing the opposite. "

Syria: EU countries alarmed

After a meeting of the UN Security Council, several EU countries had already sharply criticized the situation in Idlib on Friday. Germany, France, Poland, Estonia and Belgium said in New York that they were “deeply alarmed” because of the escalating conflict.

Syrian fighters with Turkish support are walking through a village on the Aleppo border.

The government forces in Syria had recently continued their advance to the last major rebel stronghold in Idlib and once again achieved an important strategic success. President Bashar al-Assad's supporters conquered parts of the M5 expressway near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. This brought the central Syrian traffic axis back under control - for the first time in around eight years. The route connects the capital Damascus and Aleppo, the two most important cities in Syria. It is considered one of the main supply arteries in the civil war country.

Assad's troops advance to the rebel-controlled region of Idlib. The wheel of violence keeps turning. An analysis.*

Marvin Ziegele with dpa

Israel says it bombs several jihadist positions. Tensions with the Palestinians are growing.

* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-02-25