Turkey won’t withdraw observation post in Idlib, Syria ‘after govt attacks’ – minister

Ankara will not evacuate its military observation post in northern Syria’s Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in the region, after “a suspected Syrian government attack” this month, according to Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency says Syrian government forces have carried out at least three attacks near a Turkish observation post in the Idlib de-escalation zone. This is one of 12 posts set up under an agreement between Turkey, Russia and Iran last May.

“The Turkish armed forces will not retreat from where it is located,” Reuters quoted Akar as saying late Tuesday.

Since last year, the region has been partly shielded in a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, but much of the recent fighting has hit that buffer zone.