Turkey Warns Tahrir Al-Sham of Syrian-Russian Forces' Imminent Operation in Demilitarized Zone

TEHRAN (defapress)- Ankara has given a last ultimatum to Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) and its terrorist allies to leave the demilitarized zone as the Syrian and Russian forces are preparing to kick off a major operation in the North and Northwest, a media outlet reported on Sunday.

News ID: 74222

Date: 09 December 2018 - 14:26

Syria's state-owned al-Watan daily quoted sources affiliated to Tahrir al-Sham as disclosing that the Turkish army has warned the terrorist group to withdraw from its positions in the demilitarized zone as soon as possible otherwise they will face a large-scale operation by the Syrian troops and Russian warplanes.

It went on to say that the Turkish army officers, in a meeting with Tahrir al-Sham commanders in one of the observation posts, announced that the Turkish army will take no sides once Syrian army starts the operation and will not provide backup for the terrorist group.

The Turkish side has informed Tahrir al-Sham of the vast deployment of Syrian Forces in contact lines with the terrorists in the demilitarized zone from Northeastern Lattakia up to Western Aleppo, the daily added.

Ankara has also told the terrorists that its army troops in the region have been monitoring deployment of terrorists and their heavy weapons in the demilitarized zone, warning that Tahrir al-Sham's positions are within the Damascus forces' fire range, the paper said.

Al-Watan said that the Turks have urged Tahrir al-Sham to withdraw from Aleppo-Hama and Aleppo-Lattakia highways by the end of current year, but Tahrir al-Sham has remained adamant.

The daily said that the Syrian army has deployed almost 120,000 soldiers in 232 points, laying siege on the demilitarized zone from 3 directions.

The terrorists' refusal to implement the Sochi Agreement to establish a demilitarized zone is pushing the army to initiate its long-waited assault on militants in Idlib that had been put on hold due to the Sochi Agreement.

Colonel Mar'ei Hamdan, a Syrian military expert, was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency as saying last month that Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) is in control of nearly 70% of towns and villages in Idlib province and makes provocative moves against the Syrian army, adding that the army's commitment to decrease tensions is not lasting forever.

He added that the Syrian army has so far repelled all attacks by terrorists against its positions and inflicted heavy damages on them, noting that the army is now necessitated to come out of the defensive mood to retake control of Idlib.

Hamdan said that Tahrir al-Sham will resort to a full-scale military operation against the Syrian and Russian armies soon, after rejecting the Sochi agreement last October, which leaves no room for ceasefire or disarmament anymore, and underlined that the Syrian army's battle against Tahrir al-Sham is inevitable.

Meantime, the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham and National Liberation Front (NLF) terrorist groups has also dismissed the Russian-Turkish Sochi agreement and is preparing for military operations against the army in Northern Syria, calling for a coalition with Tahrir al-Sham.

Tahrir al-Sham and other allied terrorist groups have not left the demilitarized zone two months after the Sochi agreement and have instead reinvigorated their strongholds and targeted the army positions every day.

Relevant reports said that the Turkey-backed NLF had put its gunmen on alert to launch a heavy offensive against the Syrian army in the demilitarized zone in Idlib province.

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