Funerals held for soldiers killed in Idlib

ANKARA

AA Photo

Funerals were held across Turkey for the soldiers killed during a deadly attack in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, just across Turkey’s southern border.

The funerals which started on Feb. 29 in many Turkish provinces also continued on March 1 in Samsun, Yozgat and Kütahya provinces, as well as in the capital city of Ankara.

Many Turkish statemen and high-ranking military officials along with thousands of citizens attended the funerals across the country.

Funeral prayers in absentia were also organized in many other Turkish provinces, as well as in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.

People in various parts of Turkey also organized "respect for martyrs" marches.

Also, several Turkish soldiers wounded in the Idlib attack were brought to their homes in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak and central Nevşehir province, following their treatment in the southern Hatay province, bordering Syria.

Late on Feb. 27, at least 34 Turkish soldiers were killed and tens of others injured in an airstrike by Bashar al-Assad regime forces in Idlib, which is currently home to four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

The Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under a September 2018 deal with Russia, which prohibits acts of aggression in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Feb. 27's attack was one of a series since January on Turkish troops, with Turkish officials keeping their pledge that such assaults would not go unanswered.

On March 1, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced his country has launched Operation Spring Shield in Syria's Idlib in response to the recent regime attack on Turkish troops in the region.