TOPSHOT – Turkish army tanks gather close to the Syrian border on January 21, 2018 at Hassa, in Hatay province. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
On November 22, the Turkish Armed Forces established another military post in the southern countryside of Syria’s Idlib.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the post was built on the al-Marqab hill, between the towns of Sarjah and al-Ruwaihah in the al-Zawuya Mount.
This was the second post to be established by Turkish forces in the al-Zwuya Mount this week. The first post was built on November 20 near the town of Baluon, which overlooks the Lattakia-Aleppo highway, known as the M4.
A source in the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation told Enab Baladi, a pro-opposition news outlet, that Turkish forces will soon conduct patrols in the al-Zawiya Mount.
“The Turkish forces organized weekly sole patrols from Almastumah camp, south of Idlib, to the village of Qafin in the al-Zawiya Mount,” the unnamed source said.
Earlier this month, the Turkish military evacuated several “observation posts” which were located within government-held areas in northern Hama, western Aleppo and southern Idlib.
The Syrian Arab Army and its allies are reportedly eyeing the al-Zawiya Mount, where terrorist groups, including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, are present. Turkey is apparently planning to use force to block any advance by pro-government forces in the area.
