Xinhua News Agency, United Nations, February 28 (Reporter Lin Yuan) On the 28th, UN Secretary-General Guterres called on all parties to the conflict in Syria to cease the fire immediately before the situation is completely out of control.
Guterres held an emergency press conference on the situation in Syria. He said the escalation of hostilities in northwestern Syria over the past 24 hours was one of the most worrying moments since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict. Without urgent action, the risk of further escalation of the conflict will increase.
Guterres said there is an urgent need for a ceasefire immediately before the situation is completely out of control. The Syrian conflict cannot be resolved by military action. The only solution is to immediately cease the ceasefire in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and advance the political settlement process. "It's time to give diplomacy a chance, and a ceasefire is crucial."
Guterres called for the protection of civilians. He said civilians had paid the most for the conflict. Nearly one million people had fled their homes in the past three months, schools and medical facilities had been attacked, and even refugee camps and shelters had been shelled.
According to reports, the Turkish army was attacked by Syrian government forces in Syria's Idlib province on the evening of the 27th, killing 33 Turkish soldiers and injuring 32. Turkish President Erdogan held an emergency security meeting that night and decided to fight back against Syrian government forces. On the 28th, at least 11 Syrian soldiers were killed by a Turkish drone attack.
Syria's Idlib province, bordering Turkey, is the last major site controlled by Syrian opposition militants and extremist groups. Syrian government forces have been hoping to recapture this area. In September 2018, Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan met in Sochi, Russia, and the two sides decided to establish a demilitarized zone between Syrian government forces and opposition armed forces in Idlib province. According to the agreement, Turkey has established 12 observation points in Idlib in the name of monitoring the ceasefire. Recently, Syrian government forces and Turkish forces clashed directly in Idlib, with each side suffering casualties in the exchange of fire.