Illustrative image, A Turkish military column is en route to Al-Eis
On May 25, a unit of the Turkish Army conducted a reconnaissance mission in the northern Lattakia countryside visiting the village of Koban, according to the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi. Later, the same unit visited the Turkish observation post in the village of Eshtabraq in northwestern Idlib.
Enab Baladi claimed that the Turkish Army is planning to establish a new observation post in the northern Lattakia countryside to monitor the de-escalation zone there. However, many local observers doubted this claim, as the Turkish Army had already established the twelve posts, which were agreed upon during the Astana talks.
According to Syrian pro-government activists, the Turkish Army is likely planning to reinforce its observation posts in the village of Eshtabraq and northern Lattakia, which were established earlier this month. On May 23, the Turkish Army reinforced its observation post in in the town of Murak and the village of Midan Ghazal in the northern and northwestern Hama countryside in a similar way.
So far, these observation posts have failed to achieve their aims as militants and even Turkish-backed groups are still launching attacks against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) from their positions near these posts. These acts will likely lead to a military confrontation between the SAA and militants if Turkey failed to put an end to them.
