A convoy carrying İbrahim Kalın, the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT), and a delegation was intercepted by protesters near the northern Syrian city of Azez on Sunday, Turkish media reported, citing Syrian opposition sources.
The war in Syria has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with the brutal suppression of protests against the government in Damascus.
Since 2016 Turkey has conducted several ground operations to drive the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) out of northern Syria, leaving Turkey in control of two large border strips.
The incident occurred as the group was returning from an iftar meal organized by opposition groups against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
According to investigative journalist Fehim Taştekin, citing Ayman Abdel Nour, a journalist known for his opposition to the Assad regime, who shared a short video of the protest on social media. The convoy, which was trying to return to Turkey via the nearby Öncüpınar-Bab al-Salam border crossing, had to change its route towards al-Bab after encountering the protests.
Following the incident, forces from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SMO) were deployed to the area along with Turkish special forces.
The Turkish forces in the convoy reportedly fired into the air to disperse the crowd, which refused to leave, forcing the convoy to change course. The delegation successfully returned to Turkey after the detour.
Taştekin revealed that the people who stopped the convoy were members of the El Shahba group, who initially claimed they did not know that Turkish officials were among the convoy.
The journalist quoted sources as saying that the demonstrators “turned back” when they realized their mistake, claiming that they wanted to protest the interim government ruling the region and not the Turkish delegation.
“Turkey will not let this go unanswered as it knows the possible consequences of such an incident,” Taştekin added, pointing to the delicate balance Turkey maintains in the region, especially with groups such as the al-Qaeda offshoot Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Turkey is keen to avoid a direct confrontation with the HTS and could call on the SMO to remain vigilant to prevent similar incidents, Taştekin noted. However, Ankara prefers to solve these problems with the help of local forces instead of interfering directly to keep the situation under control without escalating the conflict.
Further details indicate that the convoy included not only Kalın but also high-ranking members of the Syrian opposition and a high-ranking Qatari delegation.
Turkey is supporting the opposition groups against the Assad regime while struggling with the challenges posed by the various factions in the region. The Turkish authorities have not officially commented on the incident.