Türkiye: We are carefully monitoring the increase in terrorist attacks in the Syrian cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij

The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that Ankara is closely monitoring the increase in attacks by terrorist organizations in the Syrian cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij on civilians and Turkey in an attempt to exploit the current environment of instability, in reference to armed Kurdish groups.

This came in a statement issued by the ministry’s spokesman, Oncu Keçali, on Friday evening, commenting on the developments in Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria, and the surrounding area.

Maintaining peace in Idlib, which borders Turkey, and the surrounding area is a priority issue for Turkey, Keçali said.

He pointed out that some agreements had been signed between the concerned parties regarding the de-escalation zone in Idlib since 2017 and that Türkiye had carefully fulfilled the requirements of the agreements in which it participated.

Keçali stressed that Turkey has issued the necessary warnings in various international forums that the recent attacks on Idlib have reached a level that would harm the spirit and work of the Astana agreements and cause heavy losses among civilians, and stressed the need to stop these attacks.

He pointed out that the clashes that took place in recent days led to an unwanted increase in tension in the region.

The spokesman explained that not causing new and greater unrest in the region and ensuring that civilians are not harmed are two matters of great importance to Turkey.

He also stressed that Türkiye is also carefully monitoring the increasing attacks targeting civilians and Turkey by terrorist organizations in Tal Rifaat and Manbij, which are trying to take advantage of the current environment of instability.

The spokesman said that the failure to implement the agreements reached with the concerned parties to end the presence of terrorists in these two regions increases Türkiye's concerns.

He pointed out that Ankara is closely following developments in the context of the importance it attaches to the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and the priority it gives to combating terrorism.

This comes at a time when the Syrian armed opposition announced that its forces had entered the center of Aleppo and its western neighborhoods, where they had taken control of 7 of its neighborhoods, after having taken control of its entire western countryside. They also took control of the strategically important city of Saraqib in Idlib province, following fierce battles with the Syrian regime forces and their allies.

This development comes on the third day of the "Deterrence of Aggression" battle launched by the armed Syrian opposition, in response to what it said were escalating attacks and crowds of the regime and Iranian militias in the liberated areas in northern Syria.

Several factions are participating in the operation, including Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and others from the opposition-affiliated Syrian National Army, which is supported by Türkiye.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Anadolu Agency