Eurasia Press & News
The conflict in Syria continues, albeit not on the scale it has in recent years. Russian and Turkish forces continue to patrol but are under attack almost daily. In the last 48 hours, the Turkish military has lost its counterparts to bomb blasts.
Yesterday, December 11th, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that a bomb blast had killed two Turkish soldiers in the northwestern province of Al-Hasaka. According to an official statement from the Turkish ministry, it is about a captain and a sergeant. In addition to the two killed Turkish servicemen, dozens of people were injured as well. According to Turkish authorities, the state will transport the two dead Turkish soldiers’ bodies without any problems and the fastest way to their homeland.
The day before, on Thursday (December 10th), a new bomb in the town of Ras al-Ain killed a total of 16 people, including two other Turkish soldiers. The strange thing about this incident is that the area is under the control of the Turkish army and their supporters, which seriously calls into question the loyalty of some local factions to the Turkish state. However, according to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry, the attack was carried out by the Kurdish Workers’ Party [PKK], which is banned in Turkey.
War in Syria
In February, Turkey lost at least 62 troops killed in Syria, nearly 100 soldiers were wounded, dozens of Turkish armored vehicles were destroyed and more than ten drones, including drone, were shot down. Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of involvement in the deaths of Turkish soldiers, Russia rejects these allegations.
In early March, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, concluded an agreement according to which a ceasefire came into force in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later said that if the US and Turkish military did not leave the country, Damascus would be able to use force.
The reason for the Russian-Turkish negotiations was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Idlib, where in January a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army against the positions of the armed opposition and terrorists began.
Government forces recaptured nearly half of the Idlib de-escalation zone and left behind a number of Turkish observation posts. After that, Ankara sharply increased its military contingent in the region and launched the operation “Spring Shield” to push the Syrian troops. Turkey is also supported by militants loyal to it.
