Military operations

Recent attacks in Idlib province of Syria and the following refugee influx to the Turkish border are a national security issue for Turkey, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesperson Faik Öztrak said on Jan. 29.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned Russia that Turkey was running out of patience regarding the continued offensive by the Syrian army in Idlib and will take unilateral actions to stop it if Moscow fails to persuade Bashar al-Assad's regime to cease the military operations in the last rebel-held enclave.

Syrian regime forces on Jan. 28 entered a key rebel-held town in the country's northwest after surrounding it on three sides, sending thousands of people fleeing to safety in areas farther north, a war monitor and state media said.

Turkish top diplomat Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu discussed the situation in Syria with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 27.

Çavuşoğlu and Sergey Lavrov discussed the Syria issue, particularly the crisis in the northwestern province of Idlib, the state media cited anonymous sources as saying.

Russian warplanes have carried out fresh airstrikes in the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, killing at least 12 civilians, a Syrian civil defense group said on Jan. 21.

The victims included nine members of a single-family, six of whom were children, in Kafr Taal in Aleppo province, according to White Helmets.

Nearly 27,000 civilians have fled Syria's northwestern region of Idlib to places near the Turkish border in the last three days, amid heightened bombardments by the Syrian regime and Russia, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 19.

France will deploy the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its battle group from January to April to support French military operations in the Middle East, President Emmanuel Macron said on Jan. 16.

The Syrian regime's warplanes struck several civilian settlements in the rebel-held Idlib, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 15.

An Iraqi military base that houses U.S. forces was targeted by a rocket attack on Jan. 14, an Iraqi army officer said.

Al-Taji military airbase located 85 kilometers (some 53 miles) north of the capital Baghdad was targeted by at least two Katyusha rockets, an army captain told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to media outlets.

The assault took place for the first time since a ceasefire agreed with Turkey came into force two days ago, witnesses and rebels sources said to Reuters.
They said the towns of Khan al Subl, Maasaran and several others in southern Idlib province were targeted after a two-day lull in aerial strikes against the last rebel bastion that had been bombed continuously for over a month.