Beirut (AFP)
Syrian regime forces on Friday surrounded an observation post of the Turkish army in northwestern Syria at war, near Idleb province, after conquering several villages and localities, an NGO reported. .
"The regime's forces surround the Turkish observation post of Morek after conquering the other localities of this pocket", straddling the provinces of Idleb and Hama, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
The entire sector found itself completely surrounded by government forces when they conquered the city of Khan Cheikhoun on Wednesday after the withdrawal of jihadists and rebels, according to the OSDH.
"The regime has taken control of all the localities and villages of this encircled pocket, including Kafr Zita and Latamné, without fighting or fighting any resistance," the director of the Observatory told AFP. Rami Abdel Rahman.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian ally have been bombarding Idleb Province and the neighboring areas of Hama, Latakia and Aleppo provinces, which are dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's jihadists, since April. (HTS, former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and also shelter rebel groups.
Since 8 August, government forces have increased the pressure with ground-level progress, nibbling the territory of jihadists and rebels.
Supporting some Syrian rebel groups, Turkey - a border with the Idleb region - has deployed forces to several observation posts across Idleb and Hama provinces.
The Turkish presidency had already warned Wednesday that there was "no question of closing or moving" the observation post of Morek. All observation posts "will continue to operate where they are," she said.
Triggered in 2011 after the repression by the regime of pro-democracy demonstrations, the war in Syria became more complex with the involvement of a multitude of actors, making more than 370,000 dead.
© 2019 AFP