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Putin and Erdogan had directly negotiated a ceasefire for the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib. Russian fighter jets reportedly attacked a Turkish-backed militia there.
According to an opposition spokesman, more than 50 fighters were killed in an airstrike on a training ground in the last Syrian rebel stronghold, Idlib. Another 50 were injured, said a spokesman for the Failak al-Sham group, one of the largest opposition militant groups in Idlib backed by Turkey.
The UK-based “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” also reported an airstrike in the province on the Turkish border. He spoke of 78 dead and almost 90 injured. Presumably, the attack was carried out by Russian fighter jets. Consequently, the bombardment hit a Failak al-Sham militia training camp near the Syrian city of Harim, not far from the Turkish border. In the next few days, around 150 fighters should complete their training there. In the videos, which should show minutes after the attack, bodies were seen wrapped in blankets.
The attacks would be the most direct and serious violation of a ceasefire that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to for Idlib in March. Since then there had been some minor infractions, but the general situation had eased.
Rebels: “Clear Russian message”
A spokesman for the rebel alliance National Liberation Front (NLF), to which Failak al-Sham belongs, called the attacks on the training camp a “clear Russian message” and a clear violation of the current ceasefire. In response, the NLF attacked positions of Syrian government troops and Russian forces with rocket launchers. More attacks would follow, the NLF spokesman said. The Turkish state news agency Anadolu also reported the attack on Syrian rebels, citing military sources and spoke of “numerous” victims. The Moscow and Ankara governments initially did not comment.
Russia supports President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Turkey supports the rebels. After nine years of civil war in Syria, Idlib is the last rebel stronghold that government troops supported by Russia have not conquered even after several offensives. Turkey has installed military observation posts in Idlib and supports various militias. In addition, Turkey has occupied border areas in northern Syria and expelled Kurdish militias there. Kurdish forces still rule northeast Syria with the support of the United States. A large part of the Syrian population returns to live under the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
So far direct confrontation has been avoided
Since the beginning of 2019, 1.4 million people have been displaced by the fighting in Idlib. Turkey has already hosted more than 3.6 million refugees from Syria and wants to prevent more people from the neighboring country from fleeing across the border. It also recruited fighters in Idlib for use in Libya.
Turkey and Russia intersect in various conflicts. In the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, for example, Ankara supports Azerbaijan, while Moscow is the protecting power of Armenia. In Libya, Turkey is on the side of the internationally recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, whose opponent Chalifa Haftar is supported by Russia, among others. So far, Putin and Erdogan have found a level of discussion and avoided direct confrontation, despite their different positions.
