One Turkish soldier died on Saturday after shelling by Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s regime on the last rebel holdout of Idlib, the defence ministry said, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany to discuss the situation.
“One of our heroic comrades was injured as a result of tank fire by the regime on our elements who are in the Idlib region to ensure a ceasefire but fell martyr when he was being taken to a hospital,” the ministry said on Twitter. The latest casualty brings the number of Turkish personnel killed in clashes in Idlib this month to 17.
The Turkish military retaliated and destroyed 21 regime targets following “the despicable attack”, the ministry added.
“The blood of our martyrs will not be wasted.”
The latest incident comes two days after two Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike in the Idlib region blamed by Ankara on the regime in Damascus.
Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib as part of a Turkey-Russia deal, but Ankara’s forces have come under attack this month from Syrian regime forces.
President Erdogan on Saturday said he would hold a summit with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on March 5 to discuss the situation in Syria’s last rebel enclave of Idlib.
“We will come together on March 5 and discuss these issues,” Mr Erdogan said in a televised speech, following a phone call on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his tele-conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Turkish leader did not say where the summit would be held but his announcement comes a day after Macron and Merkel called for a four-party Syria summit also involving the Russian leader.
Source: The National
