Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks to reporters in Istanbul, June 14, 2019 (DHA)
Turkey has stepped up criticism of Moscow over the six-week Russia-regime offensive in northwest Syria.
Both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu issued pointed remarks on Friday, a day after Assad regime forces fired 35 mortar shells on one of 12 Turkish observation posts around northern Hama and Idlib Provinces.
Erdoğan said he will not remain silent if the regime, which has periodically fired on the observation posts before and during the offensive, continues the attacks. He then spoke about Russian-regime bombing and shelling of Idlib which has killed about 325 civilians since April 28, saying Ankara will do whatever it takes to stop the casualties.
“If the regime attacks more Turkish observation points and continues to take such missteps, we cannot remain silent. We want deaths to stop in Syria, the bombing of Idlib with barrel and phosphorus bombs is inexcusable.
Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey is “working with Russia” on a cease-fire — which regime forces failed to observe — announced by Moscow at midnight on Wednesday. But he chided Moscow, “Russia needs to fulfill its responsibility here.”
The Russia-regime offensive shattered a demilitarized zone announced by Moscow and Ankara last September around northern Hama and Idlib, where an estimated 3 million people — about 20% of Syria’s remaining population — live.
Despite fears of more displaced Syrians adding to 3.6 million refugees already in Turkey, the Erdoğan Government has been limited in its criticism of attacks which have added to more than 300,000 who have fled homes since last September despite the demilitarized zone. However, reports indicate that Turkey has been supplying weapons to anti-Assad forces who have counter-attacked in northwest Hama, including the regaining of territory last week.
One Turkish soldier was wounded and evacuated on Thursday from the attacked observation post in southern Idlib Province.
See Syria Daily, June 14: Russia “Ceasefire” Gives Way to Attack on Turkish Observation Post
Putin Defiant
Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said any excuse from Russia over the regime’s breaking of the ceasefire is “unacceptable”, since Moscow, along with Turkey and Iran, is supposed to be a guarantor of the demilitarized zone.
But Russia provided cover for the regime on Thursday by maintaining that it was rebels rather than regime units who fired on the Turkish observation post. The Russian Defense Ministry said Turkey had request four retaliatory airstrikes on “terrorists”, a claim rejected by the Turkish Defense Ministry: “[This] does not reflect the truth.”
And Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated yesterday that the offensive will not be halted, eliminating any distinction between Turkish-backed rebels and the hardine Islamist bloc Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
Putin said at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan:
Our immediate task now is to ensure the complete elimination of hotbeds of terrorism, primarily in Idlib, and at the same time to increase the volume of humanitarian aid and assistance to the economic reconstruction of Syria provided by the international community.
It’s been a long time peeps. BTW Erdogan ain’t gonna do jack, that said.
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Came across this:
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“another Rebel weaponized drone dropped few days ago on N. #Latakia front.” – @QalaatAlMudiq
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Here’s the chief flaws I see with rebel’s weaponise drone use strategy:
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1) They are not using them in large enough numbers (i.e. they using 10 or 30 rather using 50 or 80 in one go) on the same hour. Why is this important? The fewer the drone rebels use on a single target the more easier it becomes for the regime/Russians to shoot them all down, BUT use 100 weaponised drones in one go (i.e. within a single hour) & the regime/russians won’t be able to shoot them all down.
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2) Those drones aren’t being combined with MLR attacks so combine those ‘drone swarms’ with MLRs & attack regime airbases using both drones & MLRs. Why? Because the anti-aircraft weaponry the regime/russians airbases use to shoot down a drone or stop MLRs can only concentrate upon one type of attack at a time (i.e. it can either only focus on the weaponised drone swarms or on MLRs but it can’t concentrate on both drones & MLRs AT THE SAME TIME) do both in either the ‘drone swarms’ will do alot of damage (because regime/russia too busy with the MLRs?) or the MLRs will do the most damage (because regime/russia airbase troops too busy with the MLRs?).
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3) The attacks of drone swarms aren’t being used to attack a regime airbase from multiple axis (i.e. from north & south or west & east) like rebels do with a tank attack. Why? If rebels launch a drone swarm attack from the west the regime anti-air base & soldiers can just move to the east of that airbase and hide their until the ‘drone swarms’ stop attacking, if rebels want to catch out as many regime troops as possible then have the rebels use their ‘drone swarms’ to attack regime airbase from multiple axis (i.e. from north & south or west & east) during such ‘drone swarm’ attacks that way rebels LEAVE NO HIDING SPACE DURING DRONE SWARM ATTACK and all the Assadists will get caught out.
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4) Why aren’t rebel ATGM teams following-up a hit on those regime airbases after rebel ‘drone swarm’ attacks? When rebels launch a ‘drone swarm’ attack on a regime airbase do rebels not realise that regime rushes their soldiers either out of such airbases after a ‘drone swarm’ attack and return those soldiers back again? So why isn’t there a ATGM team ready to pick-off/STRIKE with ATGM those regime soldiers when they run away from their airbase after a rebel ‘drone swarm’ attack?
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These are 4 simple mistakes rebels need to learn from and which they can correct very easily. If rebels learn these 4 lessons then rebels can make even more Assadists run from their airbases and capture even more left behind regime supplies.
It would be interesting to know Iran’s involvement in these attacks on the North West. This seems to be omitted by most publications.