Turkey Looking to Establish Control Points in Idlib: Prime Minister

Turkey’s prime minister on Tuesday said that his country’s cross-border operation in Syria aims to create “control points” in Idlib province for future deployment, Reuters reported.

It was not immediately clear where in Idlib these control points would be established, but Turkey on Sunday deployed a reconnaissance team to Sheikh Barakat, an area that overlooks both the Kurdish-controlled area of Afrin and rebel-held areas of Aleppo province, adjacent to Idlib.

Speaking during a parliamentary meeting of the ruling A.K. Party, Binali Yildirim said that the operation also aimed to reduce refugee flows into Turkey. “The reason for our activities is to prepare the groundwork and prevent a potential migrant wave into our country,” he was quoted as saying.

Turkey currently hosts an estimated 3 million Syrian refugees.

He also added that the operation aimed to reduce tensions in Idlib, which is largely held by the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance. He explained that the Turkish-led campaign would help prevent conflicts between civilians and militants in the region.

Yildirim’s comments come three days after Turkey announced the start of a military operation in Idlib, which was designated as one of four so-called de-escalation zones during talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana in May.

Turkish-Backed Opposition Government Assumes Control of Syria Border Crossing

The Syrian opposition’s Turkey-backed government was given control of a key border crossing between Syria and Turkey on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The al-Jabha al-Shamiyya rebel group, which is based in northern Syria, handed over the Bab al-Salama crossing to the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), Reuters said.

“The interim government is the solution for the liberated areas to put an end to terrorism, to put an end to factionalism and the state of division in the liberated areas,” Khaled Aba, the head of al-Jabha al-Shamiyya’s politburo, told Reuters.

The Bab al-Salama crossing is the main gateway into rebel-held parts of northern Syria. “Turkey carved out a de facto buffer zone” in the region during its first cross-border campaign in Syria last year, according to Reuters.

The decision to hand over the border crossing came after al-Jabha al-Shamiyya joined a unified rebel army, led by the SIG.

The Unified National Army (UNA) aims to boost opposition forces both on the ground and in negotiations at the eighth round of peace talks in Geneva.

The SIG and the Syrian Islamic Council (SIC), a group of Syrian Muslim clerics, proposed the merger in late August, and within a week, more than a dozen groups had joined. Overall troop numbers are not available, but at least 44 Free Syrian Army groups operating mostly in Aleppo and Idlib province have signed up so far.

Russia Targets ISIS Militants Crossing Into Syria From Iraq

The Russian military said on Tuesday that its airstrikes killed more than a hundred so-called Islamic State fighters in east Syria this week, including militants who had crossed over from Iraq, the Associated Press reported.

Russia’s defense ministry spokesman said that warplanes have carried out 182 airstrikes over the past 24 hours.

More than 70 militants were killed and seven tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed in a strike that targeted an ISIS stronghold near al-Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.

Another airstrike killed 34 ISIS militants who had moved into Syria from Iraqi border areas.

Also on Tuesday, Russia accused the U.S. of intentionally decreasing its airstrikes in Iraq to allow ISIS fighters to enter Syria and hamper the Russian-backed advance of pro-government forces, Reuters reported.

Recommended Reads

• Reuters: How a Businessman Struck a Deal With Islamic State to Help Assad Feed Syrians
• Al-Monitor: Bottom Line in Syria: No One Is Safe Yet
• Middle East Eye: Assad Has Won the War – Now Syrian Activists Hope to Win the Peace
• Financial Times: Syrian Refugees Married Early Face Isolation and Domestic Violence
• Al Jazeera: Who Are Syria’s Opposition Alliances?