Turkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Turkey may reopen a crossing with Syrian government territory to facilitate earthquake aid, Reuters reported on February 10, citing a Turkish official.
The unnamed official told the news agency that Turkey is also looking to open another crossing into Syria’s Greater Idlib, which is controlled by rebels. Currently, only the Bab al-Hawa crossing links Turkish territory with the region.
Ankara broke all ties with Damascus after the outbreak of the war in Syria more than a decade ago, then went on to become one of the main backers of the rebels. Today, Turkish forces are present in several parts of the country’s northern region, including Greater Idlib.
In the last few months, Russian efforts to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus gained momentum. The defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of the two countries met in Moscow in December. Another meeting was scheduled for this month.
According to Reuters, the Turkish official said that a crossing from Turkey’s Hatay province into the Syrian government-held part of the coastal governorate of Lattakia could be reopened soon.
“There are plans to open the Yayladagi-Kasab border gate first. Aid sent from there can directly go to areas under Syria government control,” the official said. “Discussions and planning continue to open another gate that will enable sending aid to Idlib and United Nations aid to reach areas completely flattened by the quake.”
Both Hatay and Lattakia were heavily hit by the February 6 earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 25,000 dead in both countries.
The reopening of the Yayladagi-Kasab crossing will facilitate humanitarian efforts in Syria, and give a boost to Turkish-Syrian normalization process.
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Imagine at last, Turkey invades Syria.
Both the Old Testament and the Muslim prophecies say that this will happen.
Over 25 thousand Muslims who cannot reproduce.
Idiot they are not all Muslim. Grow up stupid idiot clown.
That’s right, because many churches were destroyed. Erdogan should be ok with Greek and Syriac Orthodox and not do any provocations, right?
You are right. It is more correct to say that those who choose to live in Muslim countries cannot reproduce, after the disaster the gods have created.
Anatolian Turks are moral people but are doing mistakes on religion and ethnicity.
Nešťastie nakoniec zblížilo Turkov a Sýrčanov. Že by Božia ruka zasiahla?