Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given the Syrian regime forces until the end of February to withdraw behind Turkish observation points in northern Syria, otherwise the Turkish army will force them to do so, as he put it.
Erdogan's threats came two days after the killing of eight Turkish soldiers in a bombing carried out by the Syrian regime forces in Idlib, northwestern Syria.
"The attack on our soldiers in Idlib is the beginning of a new stage for Turkey in Syria," the Turkish president said in a speech to deputies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) bloc in Ankara on Wednesday.
He added, "As the Syrian regime targets civilians with the slightest violation of the opposition forces, the response to violations of the Syrian regime will no longer be a direct response to its soldiers."
He continued, "Our air and ground forces will move when needed freely in all our areas of operations and in Idlib, and they will carry out military operations if necessary."
Erdogan indicated that two of the Turkish observation posts are now behind the lines of the Syrian regime forces. The Turkish forces are stationed in several observation points according to the agreement to reduce the escalation in Idlib reached by Turkey, Russia and Iran in May 2017 within the framework of the Astana meetings related to Syrian affairs.
Despite subsequent understandings made to establish the cease-fire in Idlib, the last of which was last January, regime forces and supporters continue to launch attacks in the area, killing more than 1,800 civilians, and displacing more than 1.3 million others to relatively quiet areas near or near Turkish border, since September 17, 2018.