Turkish officials are expressing anger on Monday at reports
that one of their military convoys was attacked in northern Syria while
advancing on an al-Qaeda-held town to make a delivery. The convoy was
hit by a Syrian military airstrike.
The Syrian airstrike killed three civilians as the vehicles approached
the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which is a town that the Syrian military has
recently been contesting in their fights in Idlib Province.
Turkey says the Syrian strike is a violation of
the series of military agreements they have with Russia on the Idlib
Province. It doesn’t appear that Russia was involved, though since the
Turkey-Russia ceasefires have all failed, and al-Qaeda was never meant
to be a party in the first place, Russia would likely argue this doesn’t
apply.
The Idlib Province has absorbed a huge number of rebel groups, including
several Turkey-backed factions. Al-Qaeda’s affiliate, however,
ultimately controls the area, and while they are neither part of nor
officially aligned with Turkey’s faction, it is clear Turkey is backing
them over Syria, and is framing this fight as a Russian violation of the
deal, even though al-Qaeda actually refused the ceasefire terms that
involved restoring the buffer zone between the two factions.
Once al-Qaeda disavowed the buffer zone, Syria resumed fighting with
them, and has tried to take the territory outright. Since Turkey
desperately doesn’t want to see Syria win the war, it’s not entirely
shocking they moved to prevent a big al-Qaeda loss, but it’s also not
surprising that Syria felt justified in hitting their convoy.
After all, Turkey has been meddling in north Syria for awhile, and that
included invading nearby Kurdish territory, and fighting both the
Kurdish YPG and Syria’s own military in the process.
Tensions Soar as Turkey Accuses Syria of Attacking Military Convoy in Idlib
Three civilians reported killed in convoy heading for al-Qaeda-held town
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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