Syrian Regime Forces Surround Turkish Army Post

FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells toys next to rubble of damaged buildings in the city of Idlib, Syria May 25, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells toys next to rubble of damaged buildings in the city of Idlib, Syria May 25, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
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Syrian Regime Forces Surround Turkish Army Post

FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells toys next to rubble of damaged buildings in the city of Idlib, Syria May 25, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells toys next to rubble of damaged buildings in the city of Idlib, Syria May 25, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo

Regime forces surrounded a Turkish military observation post on Friday after overrunning nearby villages following their capture of the key northwestern town of Khan Sheikhoun from opposition fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in the north of Hama province, part of the opposition-ruled region centered on neighboring Idlib province that has been under regime assault since late April. 

"Regime forces have surrounded the Turkish observation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in this pocket," the Observatory said.

Opposition fighters had withdrawn from the area ahead of the army's entry into Idlib province’s Khan Sheikhoun on Wednesday.

Government forces overran the rest of the pocket, including the town of Kafr Zita without resistance.

The observation post in Morek is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front line between government forces and the opposition fighters last year.

Ankara vowed on Tuesday that it would not abandon any of the posts and warned Damascus "not to play with fire".

"We will do whatever is necessary to ensure the security of our soldiers and observation posts," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.

The troops' mission was to oversee the establishment of a buffer zone agreed by Ankara and Moscow in September.

But the fighters failed to pull back from the zone as agreed and in April, government and Russian forces resumed intense bombardment of the region.



At Least 4 Killed in Israeli Military Raid and Airstrikes on West Bank

Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)
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At Least 4 Killed in Israeli Military Raid and Airstrikes on West Bank

Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)

At least four people were killed on Tuesday during an Israeli military raid and airstrikes on the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The Palestinian ministry said two people had been killed in the city of Qabatiya and two others in the Tammoun area.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, with almost daily sweeps by Israeli forces that have involved thousands of arrests and regular gunbattles between security forces and Palestinian fighters.