Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it would retaliate “in the strongest way, without hesitation” against any attack by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces on its observation posts in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.
Syrian government forces entered a town south of Idlib city on Tuesday in a significant advance for Assad as he seeks to recapture rebel-held territory in the country’s northwest, a war monitor and the pro-government media said.
Despite a ceasefire agreement between Ankara and Moscow, the Russian forces have been backing the Syrian government attacks.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu last week urged his Russian counterpart to halt military operations in the region.
More than 400,000 displaced Syrians have fled to the Turkish-Syrian border due to the government attacks.