Turkey Refusing to Evacuate Observation Posts in Northwestern Syria

Ankara says it will maintain 12 observation posts it established in Syria’s Idlib Province even as troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sweep deeper into the province as part of a reinvigorated anti-rebel offensive. Tens of thousands of people have fled the area as government forces, backed by Russian warplanes, push north, in one case coming to surround a Turkish position. Ankara, a backer of some of the rebels still fighting against Assad, set up the outposts in cooperation with Moscow – and is now said to be requesting that the Russians restrain the Syrians in their Idlib push. “We will in no way evacuate or abandon the 12 observation posts where our soldiers are heroically and devotedly fulfilling their duties to ensure a cease-fire,” the state-operated Anadolu news agency quoted Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying. “We will remain there.” Turkey is also holding territory just inside northeastern Syria, where it has been seeking to push back anti-Assad Kurdish rebels it believes are providing assistance to Turkish Kurds seeking autonomy.