Merkel condemns attacks on Turkish soldiers in Idlib

By Erbil Basay and Cüneyt Karadag

BERLIN, Germany (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday spoke over the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the recent developments in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

In a statement, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said Merkel condemned the Syrian regime’s brutal attacks on Turkish soldiers and called on the regime and its supporters to put an end to the attacks.

Seibert said the German chancellor extended her condolences for martyred Turkish soldiers and pledges solidarity with Turkey in dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Idlib.

Late Thursday, at least 33 Turkish soldiers were martyred and dozens of others injured in an airstrike by Assad regime forces in the Idlib, Syria de-escalation zone, just across Turkey’s southern border.

The Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under a September 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression are prohibited in the region.

But more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by Assad and Russian forces in the zone since then, as the cease-fire continues to be violated.

Thursday’s attack was one of a series since January on Turkish troops, with Turkish officials keeping their pledge that such assaults would not go unanswered.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

More than 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks.

Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in some 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making it the world’s top refugee hosting country.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut