Turkish military starts setting up observation points in Idlib

Turkish forces that entered Syria’s Idlib countryside late on Thursday have started setting up observation positions, a senior Syrian opposition official involved in the operation said early on Friday.

"The allied Turkish armed forces have entered Syrian territory and begun setting up observation posts," said Mustafa Sejari, an official in a Free Syrian Army (FSA) opposition group.

Turkey sent a convoy of about 30 military vehicles into opposition-held northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing in Idlib, opposition sides and a witness said.

President Tayyip Erdoğan announced the deployment on Saturday, saying Turkey was conducting a "serious operation" with the FSA, as part of a "de-escalation" deal it agreed last month with Iran and Russia in Kazakhstan.

The Astana agreement with Assad’s foreign allies Russia and Iran involves reducing warfare in several regions of Syria, including Idlib and adjacent swathes of the northwest, the most populous opposition-held area.

The convoy was heading towards Sheikh Barakat, a high area overlooking opposition-held territory and the canton of Afrin - which is controlled by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the PKK affiliate in Syria, and its People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, the witnesses said.

The operation is the second time in over a year that the Turkish military has crossed into Syria. The first, Operation Euphrates Shield, was launched on Aug. 24, 2016, in collaboration with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and helped liberate several ISIS strongholds, such as Jarablus, Dabiq, al-Rai and al-Bab.