Syrian regime hits area near Turkish observation post

IDLIB – Anadolu Agency

The Syrian regime’s forces on June 27 targeted an area located near a Turkish observation post in Idlib in northwestern Syria, twice in two hours.

The forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime attacked the 10th observation post in the Zawiya region with artillery and mortar fire.

Material damage was reported and the fire it caused is yet to be distinguished.

One Turkish soldier was killed and three others injured on June 27 when their observation post in Idlib came under shelling and mortar fire.

In a statement, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Syrian regime forces carried out the attack on the post in the province's de-escalation zone.

The wounded were evacuated and have begun receiving medical treatment, the ministry said.

Russia's Ankara attache was summoned to military headquarters and was told that the attacks will be "punished in the strongest way," the ministry noted.

Although Turkey and Russia have agreed to stop acts of aggression and turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone, the Syrian regime has consistently violated the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

The Turkish military set up 12 observation posts in Idlib’s de-escalation zone after the ninth round of Astana-hosted peace talks.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) sent reinforcements to the area on June 26, as the area has been targeted several times by Assad’s forces over the past three months.

It was the sixth such attack near the observation post, with similar attacks by the regime having been reported on April 29, May 4, 12, 31 and June 8.

As a guarantor state for Damascus, Moscow is responsible for preventing attacks by the Assad regime and Iran-backed militia groups, which have repeatedly violated last year’s Sochi agreement between Turkey and Russia.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.