"Mysterious" attacks against HTS officers in Idlib
While Turkey deploys troops to Idlib and establishes more military posts, attacks are being carried out on high-ranking leaders of the terrorist group HTS.
The Turkish army continues to carry out military transports to Idlib and tries to strengthen its nearly sixty bases in the region. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) based in London, a Turkish military convoy of seventy vehicles arrived in the Idlib region last night, and a troop transport of thirty vehicles took place the night before. This means that since the signing of the Turkish-Russian ceasefire agreement in Moscow on 5 March, 2750 military vehicles of the Turkish army have been transferred to Idlib.
In the meantime, Turkey has established 58 military posts in the region. The Astana Agreement concluded with Russia in 2017 had provided for twelve Turkish observation posts in Idlib. Following the fighting that began last February, the Turkish state has installed 46 additional military stations. However, the Turkish military and secret service is also said to be present in many other places in the region. SOHR names the number of Turkish soldiers in Idlib as 10,300, according to local sources the number is over 29,000.
Conflict between Turkey and HTS
After Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan promised Russian leader Vladimir Putin the dissolution of "radical groups" in Idlib in the Moscow Agreement, tensions between the Turkish state and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib continue to escalate.
In recent days, bomb attacks have been carried out against high-ranking leaders and commanders of HTS. Also today an HTS commander was killed in an attack.
A Russian-Turkish patrol on the M4 between Aleppo and Latakia planned for April 13 has been prevented by HTS. While the Turkish state transferred police forces to the region, HTS positioned its own armed forces against it. On the same day, a person believed to be an HTS officer from Idlib was killed by the detonation of an explosive device attached to his vehicle. In return, HTS abducted several Turkish-backed militiamen.
None of the provisions of the Moscow Agreement - cessation of all military activities, establishment of a security corridor along the M4 and joint patrols - have been implemented so far. Only a partial ceasefire has been achieved.
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