Turkish Military Deployed Dozens Of Vehicles In Syria’s Greater Idlib In Last Two Days: Monitoring Group
TOPSHOT – Turkish army tanks gather close to the Syrian border on January 21, 2018 at Hassa, in Hatay province. / AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
The Turkish military deployed dozens of vehicles in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib over the last two days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
On April 29, a Turkish convoy consisting of 25 military vehicles entered Greater Idlib. A second convoy, consisting of 35 vehicles, was deployed in the region on April 30.
“[The Turkish military vehicles] carried military and logistical equipment,” the London-based monitoring group said in its report.
Both convoys entered Greater Idlib through the Kafr Lusin border crossing, which has become the main supply route for Turkish troops in northwest Syria.
According to the SOHR, Turkey has deployed 2,925 vehicles in Greater Idlib since the ceasefire became active on March 5. In addition to previously deployed equipment, a total of 6,330 Turkish vehicles are currently in the Syrian region.
The vehicles deployed in Greater Idlib are mainly trucks, armored personnel carriers (APCs), battle tanks, self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers. Radars and air-defense systems were also deployed there.
Ankara is now taking steps to implement the March 5 agreement with Russia. Nevertheless, its military buildup in Idlib appears to be pointed against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and not terrorist groups occupying the region.