Is a storm brewing for Turkey in Idlib?
The increasing presence of jihadis in the last remaining opposition enclave is giving Bashar al-Assad a pretext to threaten an attack on the region where Turkish forces are also deployed.
Ankara is focused on multiple issues in Syria, where events are not moving in "the desired direction" for Turkey, to quote President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One area Ankara is concentrating on with growing concern is Idlib, a region where "anything can happen at any time," according to Erdogan.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad repeated last week that Idlib, the last major opposition enclave, will be the Syrian army’s next target now that its mission in the south is all but concluded.
“Now Idlib is our goal, but not just Idlib,” Assad told the Russian media. Pointing to opposition-controlled regions in eastern Syria they planned to move on to, Assad nevertheless indicated that Idlib was a priority.
“The military — and it is at their discretion — will decide priorities and Idlib is one of these priorities,” he said.
