Turkey Sends New Military Reinforcements to Idlib

A Turkish military convoy drives through the village of Iblin near Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on Oct. 20, 2020, after vacating the Morek post in Hama's countryside. Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images.
A Turkish military convoy drives through the village of Iblin near Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on Oct. 20, 2020, after vacating the Morek post in Hama's countryside. Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images.
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Turkey Sends New Military Reinforcements to Idlib

A Turkish military convoy drives through the village of Iblin near Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on Oct. 20, 2020, after vacating the Morek post in Hama's countryside. Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images.
A Turkish military convoy drives through the village of Iblin near Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on Oct. 20, 2020, after vacating the Morek post in Hama's countryside. Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images.

Turkey continued to dispatch military reinforcements to Syria's Idlib amid heavy regime strikes on Jabal Al-Zawiya.

A war monitor said that Turkey sent a military column via Kafr Losin crossing, north of Idlib, consisting of more than 20 vehicles on Friday.

The forces carried logistical equipment and concrete blocks that headed towards military posts.

Also on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it has monitored the entry of another three military columns of Turkish forces, including 60 new vehicles.

According to SOHR, the number of military vehicles that entered Syrian territory since the start of the new ceasefire has reached 7,500, in addition to thousands of Turkish soldiers.

Since February, the number of military vehicles that arrived in the de-escalation zone rose to more than 10,755 Turkish trucks. This includes tanks, personnel carriers, armored vehicles and mobile bulletproof guard booths and military radars.

Meanwhile, Turkish forces targeted Kurdish-controlled areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Turkish rockets hit the surrounding areas of Menagh military airbase, but no casualties have been reported, according to SOHR.

Also, activists said that Turkish forces stationed at the base in Azaz countryside shelled Kurdish positions in the village of Maranaz.

The Turkish bombardment coincided with infiltration attempts and clashes between Turkish-backed factions and Kurdish forces on the frontlines of Maranaz, Belyouniya and Ain Daqneh, north of Aleppo.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.