Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun stated: “As part of the Sochi agreement, we are determined to push the regime outside our observation posts in Idlib by the end of February. “
On his Twitter account, Altun posted a thread saying: “The Assad regime is targeting civilians and committing massacres. Unfortunately, those who keep talking about human rights and security of innocent civilians are silent.”
Pointing out that expressing ‘concern’ about the situation is not enough, Altun noted that Turkey cannot sit back and watch these massacres unfold.
Stressing that the attacks on civilian populations aim at driving IDPs and refugees to our border and emptying out this region for an easy takeover, Altun said: “We cannot and will not allow hundreds of thousands of civilians to rush to our border. We have been more than patient in trying to work with our counterparts as part of our agreements. Deconfliction zone agreements are being ignored & the regime is now targeting our soldiers. We are responding according to the situation on the ground not empty promises. As part of the Sochi agreement, we are determined to push the regime outside our observation posts in Idlib by the end of February. We will mobilize our air and ground military capabilities to make this happen. We won’t tolerate any attacks. As our President Erdoğan clearly stated, we will now respond to even the slightest regime harassment against our forces with overwhelming force. It is our moral and humanitarian responsibility to support the Syrian people’s struggle for their survival, honor, and dignity.
Syrian people’s fight for their freedom and liberation can’t be separated from Turkey’s fight for survival and national sovereignty. We can’t allow Syrian territories to be dominated by criminals and terrorists. It’s our duty to confront them across the border and throughout our region.”