BEIRUT: Syriangovernment forces surrounded a Turkish observation post in the northwest Fridayafter overrunning nearby areas, a war monitor said, while Ankara vowed not towithdraw from its position. "Regime forces have surrounded the Turkishobservation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in thispocket," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Speaking at anews conference in the Lebanese capital, Turkey's Foreign Minister MevlutCavusoglu said "our observation point there is not cut-off and nobody canisolate our forces and our soldiers." "We are there, not because wecan't leave but because we don't want to leave," he said, adding that theissue was being discussed with Damascus' allies Russia and Iran.
The Syrian regimehas upped the stakes with Ankara in its months-long Russian-backed offensiveagainst the jihadist-ruled Idlib region, which borders Turkey. Moscow said onFriday that it has agreed with Ankara to "activate mutual efforts" toease the situation in Syria's last major opposition bastion. Turkey laterannounced that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would visit Moscow on Tuesday fortalks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a meeting confirmed by theKremlin.
The town ofMorek, where the Turkish troops have allegedly been cut off, lies in the northof Hama province, part of the region centered on neighboring Idlib provincethat has been under government assault - initially by air - since late April. Government forces took control of Morek andnearby towns including Kafr Zita on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from the area ahead of the Syrian army'sentry into the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday and governmentforces took control without resistance, according to the Britain-basedObservatory.
'Whatever isnecessary'
The Morekobservation post, established under adeal with Moscow, is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front linebetween Syrian government forces on one side - and the jihadists and Ankara'srebel allies on the other side - last year. On Tuesday Cavusoglu vowed that theTurkish army "will do whatever is necessary" to defend thesepositions. The Turkish presidency has also said that it will not abandon any ofits observation posts in Syria. The Turkish troops' mission was to oversee theestablishment of a buffer zone agreed by Ankara and Moscow in September.
But the jihadistsfailed to pull back from the zone as agreed and in April, government andRussian forces resumed intense bombardment of the region. The Kremlin on Fridaysaid that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart RecepTayyip Erdogan agreed to "activate mutual efforts" to ease thesituation in the Idlib region. "They discussed the issues ofRussian-Turkish cooperation in the context of stabilisation of thede-escalation zone," a statement said.
Erdogan is tohost his Russian and Iranian counterparts for a summit in Ankara next month todiscuss the latest developments. The Turkish presidency on Friday said regimeattacks in Idlib have led to a "grave humanitarian crisis"."These attacks damage the efforts to regulate the Syrian conflict,"it said. The pro-government Al-Watan newspaper on Friday said the latest regimegains in Idlib will force amendments to the buffer zone deal.
Continuedoffensive
Since January,the Idlib region has been ruled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which isled by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. Other rebel groupsallied with Turkey were forced to cede overall control. On August 8, Syriangovernment forces launched a ground offensive with Russian support against thesouthern part of the rebel-held region, eyeing control of the main highway fromDamascus through Idlib province to second city Aleppo.
Khan Sheikhun andMaarat Al-Numan both lie along the highway. The Syrian army on Friday said thatits military "push is ongoing," after it captured Morek andneighboring areas. "Armed terrorist groups have lost the ability to stopour army's heroes" it said. Damascus said Thursday it will open a corridorfor civilians to leave the area. But most civilians had already fled before thepocket was cut off, according to the Observatory.
Since the end ofApril, more than 400,000 people have fled their homes, particularly in thesouth of Idlib and north Hama, the United Nations says. Around 900 civilianshave been killed, according to the Observatory. Following a string of victoriesagainst jihadists and other rebel groups, Assad's government now controlsaround 60 percent of Syrian territory. The war in Syria has killed more than370,000 people since it started with the brutal suppression of anti-governmentprotests in 2011. - AFP