(Zaman Al Wasl)- Heavy clashes reported in the southern countryside of Idlib province between regime forces and Turkish-backed factions as Damascus mobilizes troops to invade the town of Kafranbel, local activists said Sunday.
Bashar al-Assad’s forces have captured three villages on Sunday while the Russian warplanes have carried out more than 20 raids on the town of Kafranbel and neighboring villages.
A rebel source told Zaman al-Wasl that the Syrian regime had sent new reinforcements to the southern countryside of Idlib.
In their turn, opposition fighters killed 20 regime forces and destroyed two tanks on the battlefronts of Idlib and Hama province.
The Russian-led assault in northern Syria has allowed the regime to reclaim swathes of territory in the south of Idlib province and in neighboring Aleppo province.
Syrian activists on Sunday reported summary executions of civilians by regime forces in the western countryside of Aleppo.
Activist Suhali Abdul Rahman said Saturday's executions followed the capture of the towns of al-Mansoura and Kafr Dael where regime forces arrested civilians who refused to flee their homes.
Several men were executed in front of their wives and children, according to Abdul Rahman.
The Russian-led assault has caused an unprecedented wave of displacement, with around 900,000 people - more than half of them children - forced to flee their homes and shelters since December, according to UN figures.
Also in Idlib, at least five Turkish troops were wounded Sunday after regime forces targeted a Turkish military convoy with heavy artillery, prompting it to retreat northwards, the Syrian Observatory monitoring group reported.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops to Idlib in the last few weeks after a stepped up campaign by Assad to re-take the last rebel stronghold prompted nearly a million Syrians to flee for the Turkish frontier.
So far 16 Turkish soldiers have been killed since reinforcements began entering northern Syria earlier this month, raising the prospect of broader conflict.
The Observatory said a fresh Turkish military convoy of about 65 vehicles entered northern Syria Sunday and headed to the southern Idlib area of Jabal Zawiya before being pushed back by the shelling and Russian air strikes.
The Observatory said about 2,765 Turkish military vehicles and 7,600 Turkish soldiers had moved into northern Syria since Feb. 2.
One Turkish soldier died on Saturday in regime fire in Idlib, the Turkish defence ministry said earlier.
The Turkish military retaliated and destroyed 21 regime targets following "the despicable attack", it added.
The latest casualty brings the number of Turkish personnel killed in clashes this month to 17.
Ahead of the attack, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, to discuss ways of finding a solution to the violence in Idlib, the ministry said.
Ankara has 12 observation posts there as part of a 2018 deal with Russia and beefed up its military positions with howitzers, tanks and commandoes in recent weeks.
The flurry of diplomatic activity comes after the violence in Idlib has prompted an exchange of threats between Ankara and Moscow.
After Russia and Turkey, which support opposite sides in the nine-year war, failed to reach an agreement in the last two weeks over Idlib, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to push back regime forces if they press on.
Turkey already hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees and says it cannot handle another wave.
Erdogan on Saturday said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on March 5 to discuss the escalating violence in Idlib.
The announcement comes a day after two European Union heavyweights France and Germany called for a four-party summit involving the Turkish and Russian leaders.
"We will come together on March 5 and discuss these issues," Erdogan said in a televised speech to his party supporters in the western province of Izmir, following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a tele-conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.
Erdogan did not say where the summit would take place but speaking to reporters after Friday's prayers, he confirmed that Macron and Merkel proposed a Syria summit in Istanbul and that Putin was yet to respond.
A months-long offensive by Russia-backed Syrian troops against rebels backed by Turkey in northwest Idlib has seen close to one million civilians flee the violence.
Macron and Merkel on Friday "expressed their willingness to meet President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan to find a political solution to the crisis," the German chancellor's office said.
Russia on Wednesday objected to the UN Security Council adopting a statement that would have called for a ceasefire in Idlib, diplomats said, after a tense closed-door meeting.
Turkey has threatened an "imminent" operation in Idlib after its troops have come under intense fire from regime forces and given Damascus until the end of this month to drive back from its army positions.
Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan's top press aide, said on Saturday Russia's support for the Assad regime "worsens the already terrible humanitarian situation," in a series of messages on Twitter.
Ankara has warned of a humitarian catastrophe and fears an influx of refugees from Idlib as it is already home to 3.6 million Syrians.
"Nothing can be the justification for driving millions of innocent Syrians out of their homes," he said.
"We have fought very determinedly against terror groups in the region. Russia should not allow the regime to make terror groups an excuse for ethnic cleansing."
Erdogan urged Putin in a phone call Friday to restrain the regime's offensive and said the solution was to return to the 2018 Sochi agreement aimed at averting a regime assault.
Zaman Al Wasl with Agencies
Zaman Al Wasl
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