Ankara to Moscow: Our Military Presence in Syria Aimed at Fighting Terrorism

A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Ankara to Moscow: Our Military Presence in Syria Aimed at Fighting Terrorism

A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A Turkish-Russian joint patrol is seen in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside. (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

Türkiye reiterated that the “sole purpose” of its deployment in northern Syria is to secure its borders and fight terrorism to avert more human suffering.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar held telephone talks overnight on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss developments in Syria.

Akar stressed that Türkiye will continue to secure peace in the region and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.

A Turkish Defense Ministry statement said the officials discussed the talks that had kicked off by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The talks will “greatly help in paving the way for peace and stability in the region and Syria,” it added, underscoring the importance that they continue.

Days earlier, Akar had declared that Turkish military presence in Syria was aimed at combating terrorism and protecting Türkiye’s borders and Syria’s territorial integrity.

The deployment is not an occupation, he stressed.

Moreover, he added that Ankara was waiting on Damascus to acknowledge its position from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the military backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which Türkiye views as an extension of the banned terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had demanded the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria as a condition to meeting Erdogan as part of Russian-sponsored efforts to normalize ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Soon after the talks between Akar and Shoigu, Turkish and Russian forces deployed on Thursday a joint patrol in Syria's al-Darbasiyah countryside north of al-Hasakeh province.



Israeli Airstrike on Northern Lebanon Kills at Least 14

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrike on Northern Lebanon Kills at Least 14

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike near the village of Al Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon, 11 November 2024. (EPA)

At least 14 people were killed and 15 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the northern Lebanese town of Ain Yaaqoub on Monday, according to the town's mayor.

The strike, which marks the northernmost point in Lebanon hit by Israeli forces since hostilities began in October 2023, hit a building where 30 people were residing including Syrian refugees, Mayor Majed Derbes told Reuters. He said some people were still trapped under the rubble.

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli raid in Al-Saksakieh in Sidon District killed at least seven and injured seven more according to the Lebanese health ministry.  

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday that 54 people were killed and 56 wounded on Sunday, raising the total toll from a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to 3,243 killed and 14,134 wounded.

One-quarter of them were women and children, the ministry said, with 2,325 men, 634 women and 201 children killed since the Israel-Hezbollah war began 13 months ago. Before the war intensified on Sept. 23, Hezbollah had said that nearly 500 of its members were killed but the group has stopped updating its death toll since.

In the health care sector, the ministry said that 191 health workers have been killed, 308 wounded and 244 medical vehicles damaged since Oct. 8, 2023. Additionally, 88 medical and ambulatory centers have been affected, along with 65 hospitals.