Turkey has sent military reinforcements to the northern Syrian governorate of Idlib to counter the offensive launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia in the region, the Middle East Monitor website reported on Thursday. The Turkish army entered the region through the Kafrlossin border crossing north of Idlib and included tanks and heavy artillery, as well as several military vehicles.
The convoys were heading towards the Turkish observation points deployed in the Idlib area, coinciding with the resumption of Russian air strikes in the area, according to reports to which Middle East Monitor has had access.

Turkish media have documented the entry of 23 Turkish convoys into northern Syria since the beginning of this month, including a large number of heavy military vehicles, tanks, armoured vehicles, ammunition trucks and logistical equipment. On Tuesday, Russian warplanes carried out more than 16 raids in the rural area of Idlib, hours after an unsuccessful attempt by the Syrian regime’s forces to infiltrate the region.

In addition to this dispatch of forces, factions supported by Ankara are already continuing to attack civilians and their property in the areas known as the “Fountain of Peace”. According to the Syrian Human Rights Observatory, members of the Turkish-backed faction “Ahrar Al-Sharqiya” arrived in the village of Ali Bagley, in the southern Tal Abyad camp, to arrest a person for “dealing with the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces)”.

Several villagers, according to the Observatory, tried to stop this operation and demonstrated against it. Members of the factions tried to disperse the demonstration and fired indiscriminately, injuring two people. These factions continue to violate the rights of citizens by robbing shops and houses and forcing neighbours to pay taxes for their welfare.

The conflict in Syria began in 2011 and reached international proportions with the participation of Russia in 2015 and Turkey in 2016, with the two countries being rivals on the Syrian chessboard but maintaining a cordial relationship outside Aleppo and Idlib. Tension between the two factions increased dramatically when an attack by the Syrian army, supported by Putin, hit a convoy of 34 Turkish soldiers and provoked a strong reaction from Erdogan. Turkish soldiers stand before people demonstrating as they secure a section of the M4 highway, which links the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Latakia, Syria.