Erdogan discusses fighting in Syria's Idlib with Trump: presidency

In a phone call between Turkish President Erdogan and his counterpart Donald Trump, the two countries agreed to continue cooperating on Syria's Idlib.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

29 August, 2019

Turkish President Erdogan spoke to US President Trump about the situation in Idlib [Getty]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed with his US counterpart Donald Trump to continue cooperation on Syria's Idlib to avert new humanitarian crises, Ankara said Wednesday.

The pair "agreed to continue cooperation for the protection of civilians in Idlib where regime attacks continue, and prevention of new humanitarian crises" in a phone call late Wednesday, the Turkish presidency said.

Bombardment by the Syrian regime and its ally Russia killed 16 civilians including seven children in the country's northwest Wednesday, a monitor said, as Damascus presses an offensive against the jihadist-run bastion Idlib near the Turkish border.

After months of heavy bombardment, the Russian-backed forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched an offensive against Idlib, the last major province of Syria outside government control.

The fighting in Idlib comes despite a deal between Russia and rebel backer Turkey last year to try to avert a full-scale offensive in the region.

Earlier Wednesday, air raids hit near a Turkish military post in the area of Sheir Maghar, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, after Ankara vowed to take necessary steps to protect its troops deployed across the border.

Erdogan on Tuesday said the situation in Idlib had put lives of the country's soldiers at risk and vowed necessary steps would be taken when needed, after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Turkey has established 12 military observation posts in Idlib under its deal with Russia.

Civilian casualties in the Idlib assault have already been devastating, but rights organisations have warned that 3 million civilians are at risk of "annihiliation" if the regime advance proves successful.

Airstrikes have killed more than 900 civilians since late April, including 237 children, according to SOHR, and the fighting has left more than a thousand fighters on each side dead.

Heavy regime and Russian bombing has emptied large parts of southern Idlib and Hama, with more than 850,000 people have been uprooted since the regime began bombing Idlib in February.

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