Turkey plans to push Syrian government forces away from its military observation posts in northwest Syria’s Idlib region by the end of February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said despite advances by the Russian-backed military.
“We are planning to liberate our observation posts from the surrounding [Syrian government forces] by the end of this month, one way or another,” Erdogan told his party’s parliamentarians in a speech on Wednesday.
Russia controls the region’s airspace and has been bombing Turkey-backed rebels on a daily basis in support of a months-long offensive by Syrian government forces.
Syrian fighters, backed by the Turkish military, seized the town of Nairab in Idlib this week, according to rebel and Turkish sources, but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops continue to make advances elsewhere in the province.
Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis reports.
– Subscribe to our channel: http://aje.io/AJSubscribe
– Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish
– Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera
– Check our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/
#AlJazeeraEnglish #Syria #Turkey