After almost a week, Turkey has broken its silence to criticize a Russia-regime offensive to overrun part of the opposition territory in northwest Syria.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (pictured) said regime forces should withdraw outside a demilitarized zone declared by Russia and Turkey last September.

“Humanitarian problems grow each day and it is increasingly showing a tendency to turn into a catastrophe,” Akar said.

After months of escalating bombardment and bombing of Idlib and northern Hama Provinces, regime forces — enabled by Russian airstrikes — attacked towns and villages in northwest Hama last weekend.

At least 150 civilians have been killed and more than 400 wounded in the past two weeks. Idlib and northern Hama have more than 3 million Syrians — about 20% of the country’s remaining population. Many have been displaced from other parts of Syria by pro-Assad assaults.

In northwest Hama, rebels shelled regime forces in the town of Kafr Naboudeh, seized by the offensive earlier this week. There were conflicting reports over the scale of casualties, including a claim that some regime troops were killed accidentally by Russian strikes. One journalist for a regime outlet was wounded.

The regime’s next target, after taking the towns of Kafr Naboudeh and Qalaat al-Mudiq is the nearby village of Habit, but it appears to have been checked by the rebel response. At least 13 anti-tank missiles were fired in Friday’s response.

“We Expect Russia to Make Regime Stop Attacks”

Turkey’s military forces have been alongside rebels in northwest Syria since August 2016, initially pushing out the Islamic State and then seizing most of the Kurdish canton of Afrin.

But Ankara had said nothing about the Russia-regime attacks shattering September’s agreement, which had suspended an imminent offensive to overrun the largest opposition area in Syria.

Defense Minister Akar firmly shifted that position on Friday:

“We expect Russia to take effective and determined measures to make regime forces stop their attacks on the south of Idlib and immediately return to the borders set by the Astana agreement.”

On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said the operation was against “terrorists” and lied that it was being pursued “in coordination with our Turkish partners”.

Killing in Khan Sheikhoun

More civilians were killed in eastern Idlib by regime bombardment on Friday, according to rescuers and activists.

There were 10 airstrikes and more than 100 missiles on Khan Sheikhoun. Even though the city is now a “ghost town”, with tens of thousands fleeing previous attacks, several were slain as they tried to escape yesterday.

The White Helmets civil defense said 12 civilians and more than 40 people wounded across Idlib and Hama. A rescuer said, “It is hell on earth again.”

Khan Sheikhoun has been a recurrent target of regime assaults. In April 2017, an attack with the nerve agent sarin killed about 90 people and injured hundreds.

The White Helmets said Kafranbel was also targeted on Friday, including strikes on two mosques and a residential complex. At least two people were killed.