Turkey Bolsters Idlib Observation Posts

 US forces in Hasaka (Asharq Al-Awsat)
US forces in Hasaka (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Turkey Bolsters Idlib Observation Posts

 US forces in Hasaka (Asharq Al-Awsat)
US forces in Hasaka (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Turkey dispatched its largest military reinforcements to Syria's Idlib during the past months amid heavy strikes that targeted the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in Ain Issa.

Since February, the number of military vehicles that arrived in the de-escalation zone rose to more than 10,835 Turkish trucks.

This includes tanks, personnel carriers, armored vehicles and mobile bulletproof guard booths and military radars.

Last week, Turkey also sent a military column via Kafr Losin crossing, north of Idlib, consisting of more than 20 vehicles.

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.

The entry of new Turkish military reinforcement on Sunday coincided with ongoing artillery shelling by Syrian regime forces on areas in the countryside of southern Idlib.

Also, Turkish forces shelled Sunday SDF positions in the countryside of north Raqqa. Several missiles fell on a checkpoint in Ain Issa, injuring two members of the Kurdish-dominated Asayesh security forces.

SOHR told Asharq Al-Awsat that in the past few days, Turkish forces set up what it described as “smaller than a military base and larger than a military zone,” in the village of Tamamih, about 2 km from Ain Issa, which is under the SDF control.

The Turkish forces began to set logistic and construction equipment, it nited.

Meanwhile, the US army also enhanced its position in the countryside of the Hasaka governorate, as a new military convoy of the International Coalition crossed into Syria from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, via Al-Waleed border crossing. The convoy includes 35 trucks carrying military and logistical supplies. It headed to military bases in the Hasakah countryside.



France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
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France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)

France said Tuesday it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.

Algeria said Monday that its expulsion of 12 French officials was over the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities in a kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer. That's when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.

Tensions further peaked in November after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of the Algerian regime. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison — a verdict he subsequently appealed.

In addition to what French officials called the "symmetrically" calibrated expulsion of 12 Algerian officials, France's ambassador to Algiers also was being recalled home for consultations, a statement from the French presidential palace said Tuesday.

It said Algerian authorities were responsible for "a brutal deterioration in our bilateral relations."

French counterterrorism prosecutors said three Algerian nationals in total were arrested last week and handed preliminary charges of "kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking."

The group is allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.

The latest surge in acrimony followed a brief easing of tensions about two weeks ago when French President Emmanuel Macron called Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. French officials said they had agreed to revive bilateral relations.