Idlib’s Fate Deepens Putin-Erdogan Dispute

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) sift through the rubble of a building following a reported government air strike in the area of Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on August 22, 2019. Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP
Members of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) sift through the rubble of a building following a reported government air strike in the area of Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on August 22, 2019. Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP
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Idlib’s Fate Deepens Putin-Erdogan Dispute

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) sift through the rubble of a building following a reported government air strike in the area of Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on August 22, 2019. Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP
Members of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) sift through the rubble of a building following a reported government air strike in the area of Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on August 22, 2019. Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP

The fate of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province has deepened divisions between the Russian and Turkish presidents after Syrian regime forces advanced in Hama’s countryside.

Government forces have pounded the south of Idlib province and nearby Hama with air and ground attacks this week.

Friday's advance ends opposition presence in Hama. The northwest corner is all that remains in opposition hands after more than eight years of war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday agreed to "activate mutual efforts" regarding the situation in opposition-run Idlib province, the Kremlin said in a terse statement.

But according to Turkey’s presidency, Erdogan told Putin that Syrian army attacks in northwest Syria are causing a humanitarian crisis and threaten Turkey's national security.

Erdogan will discuss developments in northwestern Syria in a phone call with US President Donald Trump in the coming days, it said.

It added that the Turkish president will make a one-day official visit to Russia on August 27.

The recent advances by Assad's forces have put Turkish troops stationed in the region in the firing line.

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

But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied it, saying “our observation point there is not cut-off and nobody can isolate our forces and our soldiers."

He called for an immediate end to the fighting but said that Turkish troops were staying put at the Morek observation post out of choice – not necessity.

"We are there not because we cannot get out, but because we do not want to get out. We are there in accordance with the deal we made with Russia,” Cavusoglu told a news conference in Lebanon.



Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
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Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground

Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 
Smoke rises due to Israeli raids on South Lebanon (Reuters) 

South Lebanon is witnessing an escalating series of military operations, marked by repeated Israeli ground incursions and extensive bulldozing along the border.

The latest incidents have unfolded in the Marjayoun district and around the Wadi Hunin area, where Israeli military vehicles advanced more than 800 meters into Lebanese territory. According to analysts, these moves signal an effort to entrench a security presence that reflects “an advanced strategy to impose a new status quo along the frontier.”

On Friday, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli army bulldozers, protected by tanks stationed nearby, crossed the boundary at Wadi Hunin and moved towards a landfill south of the town of Adaisseh. The forces sealed off a road and erected earthen barriers, prompting heightened alert from the Lebanese side.

Separately, an Israeli patrol breached the withdrawal line in the outskirts of Kfar Shouba - penetrating 400 meters into Lebanese territory - and fired shots at shepherds without causing injuries.

The incursions did not stop there. Residents of Blida also reported a fresh advance of over 800 meters. Meanwhile, Israeli troops detonated a civilian structure in the Ghassouna area east of Adaisseh, using incendiary and stun grenades that sowed panic among local families.

In parallel, Israeli aerial attacks have intensified. On Friday, an Israeli drone struck a car traveling on the Nmeiriyeh–Sharqiyyeh road in Nabatieh district, killing one person and injuring five others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed. The attack underscores the widening scope of targets, reaching deeper into southern Lebanon and extending beyond military sites to include civilian vehicles.

Another drone dropped a bomb on a small transport truck in the border town of Kfar Kila, causing material damage but no casualties. Such incidents have become a recurring pattern in the ongoing escalation.

Adding to the strain on civilians, an entire house in Kfar Kila was blown up after being rigged with explosives. In Meiss El Jabal, Israeli forces destroyed a newly renovated tile factory last week, as part of what Israeli spokesmen described as “special operations” targeting weapons depots and infrastructure allegedly tied to Hezbollah in locations including Labouneh and Jabal Balat.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on Wednesday that the operations were based on intelligence gathering and surveillance of “Hezbollah’s combat means and terrorist infrastructure.” He added that special units were working to dismantle these networks to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its positions along the border. Adraee also released nighttime video footage showing Israeli infantry operating deep inside southern Lebanon.

A Systematic Effort to Empty the Border

Military analyst Brigadier General Naji Malaeb described these incursions as “part of a systematic plan to reshape the situation on the border.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli ground advances typically coincide with major diplomatic developments - whether a US envoy arriving in Beirut or Israeli delegations traveling to Washington.

“Every time there is a significant diplomatic event, we see coordinated maneuvers - airstrikes, artillery shelling, or limited ground incursions targeting civilian or logistical sites,” Malaeb noted.

He argued that Israel’s consistent pattern of targeting rebuilt homes and small businesses reveals a clear message: preventing displaced residents from returning. “Whenever villagers attempt to repair their homes or revive their livelihoods, the response is immediate,” he said, citing a recent case in Aitaroun where Israeli troops demolished a factory that had been reconstructed inside a residence.

“This is no longer just a violation of Lebanese sovereignty or UN Resolution 1701,” Malaeb concluded. “It has evolved into a deliberate strategy to depopulate the border strip and impose new facts on the ground, creating, in effect, a buffer zone through indirect means.”