- Turkey counterattacks in Syria. New raids on civilians in Idlib, escalation risk
- Massacre of Turkish soldiers in the Syrian air raid on Idlib. Erdogan convenes security council
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March 01, 2020 Turkey has announced that a military offensive is underway against Bashar al Assad regime forces in Idlib, northwest Syria, in response to Syrian attacks that have inflicted massive losses on Ankara. Ankara has specified that it does not intend to clash with Russian forces on the ground, allies of Assad."The 'Spring Shield' operation, launched after the vile attack on February 27 in Idlib, is proceeding successfully," said Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar, after killing dozens of soldiers in recent days.
"The Spring Shield operation will continue, considering the attacks suffered by our army, without reaching the clash with Russia". These are the words of the Turkish defense minister, Hulusi Akar, who reiterated that Turkey will not step back. The minister said that the Turkish army had hit 8 helicopters, 103 tanks, 78 rocket launchers, 3 anti-aircraft emplacements and 2,212 military personnel from the Damascus regime.
Turkey has hit two planes of the Syrian regime in Idlib: the Syrian state media denounce it. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a pro-Ankara rebel group, the two planes have been "shot down".
In the same hours, the announcement arrived that the Syrian army closed the airspace with aircraft and drones on the north-western part of the country, in particular in Idlib, where the Turkish offensive is concentrated. "Any aircraft that violates our airspace will be treated as hostile and as such must be shot down," warned the Syrian army, complaining that "Turkish regime forces continue to carry out hostile acts against our armed forces operating in the province of Idlib and the surrounding area ".