Against a backdrop of growing tension around the Idlib region of northern Syria, Turkey again bombed the Damascus regime’s military forces in Syria on Saturday (February 29th). At the same time, clashes were taking place between police and migrants on the Greek-Turkish border after Ankara decided to "open its doors" to force Europeans to take a stand in this crisis.
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New Turkish strikes in the Idlib region
The new Turkish strikes come after the death of 33 Turkish soldiers in aerial bombardments attributed by Ankara to the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in the Idlib region (north-western Syria) on Thursday. Another Turkish soldier was killed on Friday.
Turkey claimed it had destroyed a "Installation of chemical weapons" in the Aleppo region. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), a non-governmental organization (NGO), questioned the claim, citing a strike against a military airport.
The Syrian regime, supported by Moscow, has been carrying out an offensive since December to retake the province of Idlib, the last rebel and jihadist stronghold. The fighting and bombing caused a humanitarian disaster, leaving nearly a million displaced. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people since 2011.
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"Reducing tensions" between Turkey and Russia
The military escalation in Idlib has also strained political relations between Turkey and Russia, one of the main supporters of the Syrian regime. Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a telephone interview during which they expressed their " worry ". The two leaders could meet in Moscow next week, according to the Kremlin.
Russians and Turks have expressed the wish for a "Reduction of tensions" in Syria during meetings between senior officials of the two countries in recent days, however, said the Russian foreign ministry on Saturday.
Officials from both countries also said they wanted to "Protect civilians inside and outside the de-escalation zone (Idlib) and provide emergency humanitarian aid to all who need it. ", according to the same source.
Since the United States withdrew part of its forces from the northeast of Syria in October 2019, at the urgent request of Turkey, the fate of Syria is played out between Moscow and Ankara and the convergence of interests between the two capitals have considerably weakened, especially around Idlib since December 2019. To preserve the status quo and avoid a total recovery of the enclave by the regime, Ankara had to strengthen its presence alongside the rebels, even if it meant risking an escalation with Moscow.
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Thousands of migrants pushed back to Turkish-Greek border
Faced with this very tense situation, Ankara has since endeavored to rally the international community. To put pressure on Europe, it followed through on its threat to let in migrants who want to go to Europe, including Greece.
Greek police attempted to repel tear gas from thousands of migrants trying to cross the border, some of whom threw stones at the Turkish border crossing at Pazarkule (Kastanies Greek side). Greece says it prevented nearly 4,000 people from entering 'Illegally' on its territory since Friday.
Erdogan reiterated on Saturday that Turkey "Was not going to close the doors" and keep its borders with Europe open to allow migrants to cross, blaming the European Union for not helping it enough. The Turkish president claims that 18,000 migrants have already crossed them since Friday, a figure that cannot be confirmed.
