Attacks of the "Syrian regime" on Thursday, at positions shared by the Turkish army and opposition forces, killed at least 22 Turkish soldiers, according to the government delegate in the Turkish province of Hatay. The last coup has occurred at the same time that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held an extraordinary Security Summit to address the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib, which after what happened is aggravated to the point of the break with Russia.

For its part, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the death of 34 Turkish soldiers - not officially confirmed - during what could have been the blackest day for the Turkish Armed Forces in decades. "The attacks," explained this organization that reports based on a network of activists on the ground, "occurred throughout the day in the area between Al Barah and Baluon," in the province of Idlib, the last opposing stronghold and object of A government offensive.

According to local media and some videos that have emerged, Russian aviation, which supports the troops of Syrian President Bashar Asad, reduced a two-story building that served as the headquarters of the opponents to rubble. The Turkish army used it to coordinate with opposition brigades, including extremist elements, who fight to prevent Idlib from returning to the government. Then, the Kremlin, which manages Syrian airspace, banned Turkey from transporting injured people by helicopter.

According to various images shared on social networks, Reyhanli General Hospital, a Turkish town near the Turcosiria border, was filled with patients and curious neighbors during the night. Dozens swirled around the building. According to the semi-official Anadolu agency, the government delegate in Hatay, Rahmi Dogan, asked the population not to approach the hospital to avoid security problems.

Twitter access cut off

Internet observatories warned that Turkish government response to what happened, in the first minutes, was partially cut off access to Twitter in the country. A common tactic to avoid what, in Ankara's eyes, is the distribution of "hoaxes and propaganda." At the same time, Turkish media reported the death of 1,709 elements loyal to Damascus in Turkish attacks during the last 17 days of attacks, which on Wednesday managed to push them back and resume the city of Saraqib for the elevations.

The capture of Saraqib, at an important crossroads of the M4 and M5 motorways, was celebrated as a great victory for the rebels. In almost nine years of conflict, it was the first time that an offensive, which had the direct participation of Turkish forces , managed to push back the Syrian army. Erdogan had given Bashar Asad a deadline, which ended this month, to retract his troops to the opposite shoulder of the M5, a delimitation previously negotiated with Russia at the Sochi table.

The primary objective for Turkey, which has hosted three and a half million Syrian refugees, is to prevent the official offensive on Idlib from pushing the more than one million displaced people it is causing, so that its border, closed today, overflows. Therefore, the Government redoubled its support to the opposition forces by sending its own soldiers. More than 25 Turkish soldiers have died this month in Idlib where, apart, Turkey maintains observation posts, some surrounded by the enemy.

The new scenario, after what happened this Thursday, leaves all this in the air, if not for the air. Although Turkey has attempted to point only to Damascus as guilty of the lethal attack on its troops, the Ankara - Moscow relationship, which has been in low hours for weeks, could experience worsening. However, months of tension with its allies with NATO have left Turkey in a difficult position. US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper ruled out a return to the Syrian board the day before yesterday. According to Reuters, Turkey intends not to prevent Syrian refugees from reaching European territory by sea or land. A gesture seen by some observers as a way to put pressure on the EU to put it on its side in the Idlib crisis.

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