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| A Syrian army soldier watches the road as a cat runs across it in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki |
Four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine were wounded, one of them seriously, in intense shelling by Syrian government forces in Syriaโs northwestern Idlib region on Monday, the Turkish defence ministry said.
Turkish forces retaliated immediately, destroying targets in the Idlib region, the ministry said in a written statement, without elaborating on how its military struck back.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assadโs forces, backed by Russian air power, have recently made advances in Idlib and President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey may launch a military operation there unless the fighting is halted.
Turkey, which already hosts 3.6 million refugees from Syria, fears a fresh wave of migrants from Idlib. It has 12 military observation posts around the region, set up under a 2017 agreement with Russia and Iran. Several of them have since been surrounded by advancing Syrian government forces.
The shelling by Syrian government forces was carried out โagainst our elements sent as reinforcements to prevent clashes in Idlib, despite their positions being coordinated beforehand,โ the Turkish defence ministry statement said.
Idlib is the last major rebel-held stronghold in Syriaโs nearly nine-year war and Erdogan accuses Russia of violating agreements to reduce the fighting in the region, a charge which Moscow denied on Friday.
REUTERS
