After the deaths of 33 Turkish soldiers in raids attributed by Ankara to the power of Damascus, reprisal bombings, carried out on Friday 28 February, by the Turkish army in the province of Idleb, killed sixteen fighters of the Syrian regime.

The Turkish bombings carried out at night "by artillery or with drones" armed aimed at positions of the regime, especially in the south or east of the province of Idleb, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Man (OSDH).

Ankara confirms

The Damascus authorities have not commented on the escalation with Ankara in this northwestern province of Syria, nor provided an assessment. For its part, Ankara had confirmed that it had responded to the raids attributed to the Syrian regime. "All the known positions of the (Syrian) regime have been taken under fire from our ground and air units," said the director of communications for the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun, in a statement.

The heavy losses suffered by Ankara the day before come after weeks of growing tensions in Idleb between Turkish and regime forces, which have clashed repeatedly since the beginning of the month. The deadly bombings on Thursday bring to at least 53 the number of Turkish soldiers killed in Idleb for the month of February.

New influx of Syrian refugees

With the support of the Moscow air force, Damascus went on the offensive in December to take over the last great rebel and jihadist stronghold of Idleb.

As of Friday, four civilians from the same family, including two children, were killed in air raids in the Jabal al-Zawia area of ​​Idleb, according to the OSDH, which was unable to identify the striker.

Turkey, which supports certain rebel groups and has deployed troops in northwestern Syria, has repeatedly called for a halt to the offensive.

Ankara, which already hosts more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees on its territory, fears that the violence will provoke a new influx towards its border, which it keeps closed.

With AFP

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