Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Turkey Sends More Troops, Tanks to Syria Amid Idlib Assault
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 7, 2020

Share

BEIRUT — Several Turkish armored vehicles and tanks entered rebel-controlled northwestern Syria early on Friday, the latest reinforcements sent in by Ankara amid a Syrian government offensive that this week brought the two countries’ troops into a rare direct confrontation.

The deployment and the new defensive role brought Turkish troops into a direct and rare confrontation with Syria troops that killed at least eight Turkish military and civilian personnel and 13 Syrian soldiers on Monday.
The Syrian government, backed by its ally Russia, has kept up a military offensive in Idlib province, aimed at securing a strategic highway that runs along rebel-controlled territory. President Bashar Assad’s forces have seized dozens of rebel-held towns and villages in the past two months, displacing hundreds of people in the process.
Turkey, which backs the Syrian opposition and has been monitoring a cease-fire in the rebel enclave, protested the government offensive, calling it a violation of the truce it negotiated with Russia. In recent weeks, Ankara sent in troops and equipment to reinforce monitoring points it set up to observe a previous cease-fire, which has since crumbled, but also deployed around towns threatened by the Syrian military advances.
The deployment and the new defensive role brought Turkish troops into a direct and rare confrontation with Syria troops that killed at least eight Turkish military and civilian personnel and 13 Syrian soldiers on Monday.
Photo of Syrian rebel fighters preparing to shoot a howitzer
Syrian rebel fighters prepare to shoot a howitzer toward the government positions near the village of Nerab, in Idlib province, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Turkey sent more reinforcements into northwestern Syria on Thursday, setting up new positions in an attempt to stop a Syrian government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in the war-torn country, state media and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian Government Troops Took Control of the Former Rebel Town of Saraqeb This Week

An Associated Press video shows a long line of armored vehicles and trucks, carrying tanks, filing into rebel-controlled rural areas of Idlib province on Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the new troops deployed west of the town of Saraqeb. It was fifth known deployment of new troops into Syria over the last week, according to the Observatory and other opposition news outlets.
Syrian government troops took control of the former rebel town of Saraqeb this week. The town is strategic because it sits on the intersection of two major highways, one linking the capital, Damascus, to the north, and another connecting the country’s west and east.
The Turkish military posts erected around Saraqeb didn’t stop the military advance, which left some of those Turkish posts are now behind Syrian lines.
For weeks, Syrian troops, backed by Russian air force, have been advancing in rebel territory as the cease-fire deal reached in 2018 unraveled. The offensive has displaced over half a million people, many of them arriving in open air and temporary shelters, often near the borders with Turkey. Idlib and nearby rural Aleppo are the last rebel-held areas in Syria and are home to more than 3 million people, most of them already displaced by previous rounds of violence.
Turkish officials say three Turkish observations posts are currently inside Syrian government-controlled areas in Idlib. A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, insisted the posts would not be evacuated.

The Violence Has Also Raised Tension Between Moscow and Ankara

Turkey’s Defense Ministry warned the army would respond “even more forcefully” to any attack on the observation posts. “Our observation posts will continue carrying out duties,” the ministry said.

“We will do whatever is necessary to stop the human drama, the disaster (in Idlib).” — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
There was a brief reprieve from the fighting Friday, apparently caused in part by bad weather, including a rainstorm.
On Thursday, Russia announced that a number of its soldiers had been killed in a northern Syrian province alongside Turkish servicemen, without saying when the incident occurred or how many were killed. The Russian foreign ministry blamed “terrorists” for the deaths.
The violence has also raised tension between Moscow and Ankara, which have been working together to secure cease-fires and political talks despite backing opposite sides of the conflict.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a Russian delegation is scheduled to arrive in Ankara on Saturday to discuss the situation in Idlib. A meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin could follow “if necessary,” Cavusoglu told reporters.
“We will do whatever is necessary to stop the human drama, the disaster (in Idlib),” Cavusoglu said.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Newsom Wants to Bypass Trump Tariffs With Direct CA Trade Deals

DON'T MISS

Markets Plunge With S&P 500 Down 6% and Dow Down 2,200 After China Retaliates

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

DON'T MISS

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

DON'T MISS

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

DON'T MISS

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

DON'T MISS

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

DON'T MISS

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

DON'T MISS

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

UP NEXT

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

UP NEXT

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Orders New Evacuation of Gaza City Neighborhoods

UP NEXT

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

3 hours ago

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

3 hours ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

4 hours ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

4 hours ago

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

4 hours ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

6 hours ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

6 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

6 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

8 hours ago

Newsom Wants to Bypass Trump Tariffs With Direct CA Trade Deals

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday asked exporting countries worldwide to spare California their retaliatory tariffs, saying he plans to pursue dir...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Newsom Wants to Bypass Trump Tariffs With Direct CA Trade Deals

Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP/Richard Drew)
3 hours ago

Markets Plunge With S&P 500 Down 6% and Dow Down 2,200 After China Retaliates

Fresno police are searching for Unique Hernandez, 12, last seen on Friday, April 4, 2025, near Inyo Street and Maple Avenue, wearing all black clothing and carrying a black backpack. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

3 hours ago

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

3 hours ago

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

4 hours ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

4 hours ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

Antonio de Jesus Orozco Montes Deoca, 30, was sentenced on Friday, March 4, 2025, to 14 years and 8 months in prison for a deadly marijuana DUI crash in 2022 that killed one woman and injured four others. (GV Wire Composite)
4 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend