Ahrar al-Sham

Syrian lands across from Turkey's Cilvegözü border gate is being controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has roots in al-Qaeda.

How did this happen?

Turkey has limited cross-border movements at its Cilvegözü crossing on the Syrian border because the area "has been taken by a group that we consider a terrorist group," Customs Minister Bülent Tüfenkci stated on Aug. 10. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has slammed Russia for killing more than 600 civilians in Syria since the latter started conducting airstrikes inside the country in support of President Bashar al-Assad late September. 

In a written statement issued on Dec. 21, Çavu?o?lu said Russian operations had killed more than 600 civilians, of which 150 were children. 

The Nov. 24 downing of a Russian fighter jet that violated Turkey's border with Syria by the Turkish military was planned, according to a senior figure from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). 

"It is seen that the downing of the Russian jet was decided and planned earlier, and it was just implemented yesterday," said ?dris Baluken, the opposition party's deputy chair, on Nov. 25. 

A member of parliament has claimed that Turkey has handed over six fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG), the military wing of Syria's Democratic Union Party (PYD), blaming the government for committing a war crime.

Some 14,000 militants of the Syrian rebel group have abandoned Aleppo, while its commander has fled to Turkey, according to Turkish security sources The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the recognized armed opposition group against the Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has ceased its resistance in Aleppo, Syria’s second biggest city, withdrawing its 14,000 militia from the city, a ranking Turkish security so