(Zaman Al Wasl)- Top Turkish officials have alerted the commanders of Syrian National Army to prepare for a phase where confrontation might be the only option in light of diplomacy reaching a dead end in northwestern Syria, a well-informed source told Zaman al-Wasl Friday.
The alert came after a prolonged meeting in Istanbul on Thursday, including head of Turkish intelligence, Hakan Fidan, senior army officers, and the adviser of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Syrian side included the Minister of Defense in the opposition's Interim Government Maj. Gen. Salim Idris, and Commander of the National Liberation Front, Fadlallah Al-Haji, as well as other leaders of the Front.
According to the source, the meeting came as a result of Russia’s empty promises, Turkey has lost hope in the truce claiming that the Syrian regime is not completely responsive with them. The Turkish leadership insists on not giving up their support to the revolution.
The head of the Turkish Intelligence assured that supporting the Syrian revolution is a matter of national security and Turkey will not allow it to be subdued.
Thursday's meeting was to eliminate any doubts and to clarify the situation. Fidan stated that Turkey’s position is based on the Syrian revolution and its support will continue accordingly. If a confrontation is expected, then they will stand with them, rebel commander told Zaman al-Wasl.
The source said Turkey vowed to supply the armed factions with some advanced weapons to halt regime offensive in Idlib region and new the Turkish border.
Another meeting was held in a hurry ten days ago in Turkey in which Ankara informed the Syrian armed opposition the need to be prepared.
The source said that the previous meeting raised suspicions, with some feeling that Turkey is going back on its promise to support the revolution, which is not the case. In reality, Turkey has merely alerted them to be prepared for confrontation.
‘Some misunderstood the message. Turkey did not announce, in this meeting nor in any other meeting, their withdrawal from the total support of the revolution they have promised, and there was no indication of that at all,’ the source added.
The Syrian National Army is an umbrella group in northern Syria consisting of an assortment of rebel forces. Many of the group’s factions, made up largely of Arab fighters, had already fought at Turkey’s behest in two previous military operations over the past three years.
Idlib province, which turned into a deadly battlefront, is home to at least three million people, many of whom are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
According to the UN humanitarian coordination agency OCHA, almost 350,000 people have fled their homes since December 1, mainly heading northwards from southern Idlib, which has borne the brunt of the air strikes, according to AFP.
The International Rescue Committee has warned that an additional 650,000 people, the majority of them children and women, could be forced from their homes if the violence continues.
Nearly half a million people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria's long-running civil war, which erupted in 2011 in the form of anti-regime protests amid Arab Spring uprisings and eventually turned into an armed insurgency.
Zaman Al Wasl
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