Tag: Idlib

Turkey in social media BLACKOUT amid fears of all-out war in Syria

RT- February 27, 2020

Social media platforms across Turkey winked out after reports of an airstrike in Syria killing dozens of Turkish soldiers fueled rumors of an all-out war. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and YouTube were all reported down.

Twitter was the first to go, with national provider Turk Telekom shutting off access around 11:30pm local time on Thursday. This was shortly after news broke that at least nine – the number has since continued to rise – Turkish soldiers were killed in Syria’s Idlib province.

This was followed by all other social networks, clustered by provider, according to multiple services monitoring internet outages across the globe.

Accounts of major media outlets remained active however, as they flashed updates about the alleged Syrian airstrike and the Turkish response – described by officials in Ankara as air and artillery strikes against multiple “regime” targets.

News that multiple soldiers were killed in Syria was confirmed on Thursday evening by Rahmi Dogan, governor of the Hatay province that neighbors Syria. Casualties from the strike were reportedly being treated at hospitals in the border town of Reyhanli.

Among the rumors circulating on social media in the aftermath were reports that Turkey would open its borders for Syrian refugees seeking to cross into Europe. It was also suggested that the parliament in Ankara intended to declare war on Syria in the morning.

So far, the only thing that has been officially confirmed is that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called an emergency session of security officials, and that Ankara has reached out to NATO and Washington.

https://www.rt.com

Syria and Turkey Edge Toward All-Out War While Putin Smiles

Rick Moran – February 12, 2020

There have been several clashes between Syrian and Turkish military forces in the last two weeks, as Syria attempts to retake Idlib province from rebel forces. Turkey has carved out a demilitarized zone in Idlib, which is supposed to be a safe zone for Syrian civilians. Their goal is to prevent a flood of refugees from crossing the Syrian border.

But Syria is ignoring the Moscow-negotiated cease-fire and driving hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Turkey, most of them in desperate straits.

The UN is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe as 700,000 Syrians are on the move with nowhere to go. But there are likely to be more refugees as Syria and Turkey have now come to blows, with President Erdogan promising to “punish” Syria for attacking Turkish positions in Idlib.

Washington Times:

Analysts say the reignited Syrian crisis threatens to engulf  Turkey and force Ankara to greatly expand its military mission inside the country. The winner, they say, could ultimately be Russia, as President Vladimir Putin may emerge as the only player powerful enough to prevent a full-blown war.

“Erdogan went into Syria for entirely selfish and cynical reasons, and now finds that it was a lot easier to go in than get out,” said former Defense Department official Michael Rubin, now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who tracks the region extensively.

https://pjmedia.com