Turkish Forces Set Up Positions in Northwest Syria

“The allied Turkish armed forces have entered Syrian territory and begun setting up observation posts,” Mustafa Sejari, an official in the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Turkey sent a convoy of about 30 military vehicles into rebel-held northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing in Idlib, rebels and a witness said.

Several Turkish military vehicles, ambulances and tankers were visible in photographs published by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency late on Thursday stationed at a village near Turkey’s Reyhanli border gate opposite Bab al-Hawa.

Residents of northwest Syria and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have reported intense air raids on Idlib and nearby areas for months.

Backed by Russia, the Syrian government has pushed back rebels across the Arab country over the past months, shoring up its rule over the main urban centers.

A string of ceasefire deals in recent months has eased the fighting in western Syria.

As part of the latest victories by the Syrian Army against Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, the government troops on Thursday advanced in al-Mayadeen city in Deir ez-Zor, east of Syria.

According to SANA, the Army units carried out intensive operations against ISIL terrorists in al-Mayadeen city, establishing control over al-Tibeh village that is adjacent to the city and advancing into al-Mayadeen neighborhoods from the western part.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.