Multiple reports stated that Turkish forces, escorted by members of Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front with ties to al Qaeda, entered Idlib province on Sunday from Turkey’s Hatay province and approached the Idlib-Afrin border.
There, they made a deal for the Turkish forces to take control over areas in Idlib province that border the Kurdish YPG-controlled Afrin, according to a report from the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday.
The Observatory said the Turkish “reconnaissance forces” traveled through Idlib province and into western Aleppo while being “protected” by Tahrir al-Sham.
Several other reports confirmed the Turkish forces were seen coordinating with Tahrir al-Sham near Afrin.
The Turkish forces came within kilometres of Afrin in the Darat al-Ezzah area where they deployed four vehicles, AP reported on Sunday, citing a local Kurdish source.
Another local source told Reuters on Sunday they had seen Turkish military vehicles traveling in Idlib with a Tahrir al-Sham escort, sending a reconnaissance team to areas that overlooked Afrin and Aleppo.
The same source, a senior Syrian rebel, told Reuters mortars were fired towards the Turkish reconnaissance team from areas under YPG control.
The Turkish military confirmed on Monday that it had begun reconnaissance activity in Idlib in preparation for an offensive, the first step towards establishing a de-escalation zone in the province as per an agreement reached by Turkey, Russia, and Iran in the Astana peace talks.
Turkey will be backing elements of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the offensive.
According to state-run Anadolu Agency, blocking Kurdish expansion in the area is also a goal of the operation. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish armed group YPG and its political wing the PYD as extensions of the PKK, a named terror group.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that they would not allow the Kurds to establish a “terror corridor,” linking its territories in eastern Syria to the Mediterranean Sea.
Afrin is the western-most Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria, commonly known as Rojava. It is physically separated from the eastern territories, however.
If Turkey succeeds in exerting control in Idlib, Afrin will be nearly completely surrounded by Turkey and its allied FSA. To its southeast, Afrin also borders Damascus-controlled Aleppo province.
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