Turkey Pulling back from Second Syrian Military Post

Arab World

November 3rd, 6:07pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkey is evacuating a second isolated military post in northwest Syria. (Reuters file photo)

Turkey is evacuating a second isolated military post in northwest Syria, pulling back from territory controlled by Syrian government forces to an area still held by opposition factions and Turkey-backed fighters, Turkish and opposition sources said on Tuesday. A source in one of the opposition factions backed by Ankara said trucks arrived at the observation post at Shir Maghar in north Hama province late on Monday night to prepare the evacuation. The forces pulling back from Shir Maghar will rebase at a new military post in the village of Kokfin in the opposition-held area of Idlib province, where thousands of Turkish troops are stationed, a Turkish security source said. A second Turkish source said Turkey was preparing to pull back from additional posts located in areas which Syrian government forces recaptured in an offensive launched last year. Shir Maghar and Morek, which was abandoned by Turkish forces two weeks ago, were two of a dozen set up by Turkish soldiers in 2018 under an ill-fated deal reached by Turkey, Russia and Iran to calm fighting between Syrian government troops and rebels. The three powers back opposing sides in Syria’s conflict, with Turkey supporting opposition fighters who fought to topple president Bashar Assad while Russia and Iran ultimately helped Assad drive the opposition back to a small pocket of northwest Syria. Several Turkish military posts were surrounded last year by the Russian-backed Syrian government forces, whose advance was halted in February by Turkish military intervention, followed by a ceasefire agreed between Russia and Turkey. Already home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees, Turkey is determined to prevent a further influx of people fleeing fighting. The United Nations says there are around 4 million people in northwest Syria, of which 2.7 million have been displaced during the nine-year conflict. Syrian rebels say Turkey retains between 10,000 and 15,000 troops in northwest Syria, alongside opposition fighters backed by Ankara and extremist forces it has committed to disarm and contain.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2603566/turkey-pulling-back-second-syrian-military-post