Turkey troop deaths raise Syria stakes

After 33 killed, Ankara says it won't halt refugees, and Russia sends warships

ANKARA, Turkey－Turkey on Friday raised to 33 the number of deaths it reported from a Syrian government airstrike on its forces in northwestern Syria the day before. It was the largest loss of Turkish troops in a single day since Ankara first intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2016.

The deaths, which came in an attack on Thursday, marked a serious escalation in the direct conflict between Turkish and Syrian government forces that has been waged since February. The earlier reported death toll on the Turkish side was 29.

Rhami Dogan, the governor of Turkey's Hatay Province bordering Syria's Idlib Province, said 32 wounded soldiers were being treated in hospitals. Turkey has now had 54 of them killed in Idlib since February.

Shortly after the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire and expressed serious concern about the risk to civilians from the escalating military actions.

"Without urgent action, the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a six-hour emergency security meeting in Ankara late on Thursday, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Syria and Erdogan has warned that the country will launch a full-scale offensive to repel Syrian forces unless they pull back from Turkish observation posts in the region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevult Cavusoglu spoke to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg by telephone. Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who plays a senior role in foreign affairs, also spoke to US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.

Russia on Friday said it was sending two warships armed with cruise missiles to waters off the Syrian coast and blamed Ankara for the deaths of the 33 Turkish soldiers.

Russia's Defense Ministry was reported by the RIA news agency on Friday as saying that the Turkish troops had been hit by artillery fire from Syrian government forces who were trying to repel an offensive by rebel forces.

Communication channel

The ministry was quoted as saying that Ankara had failed to notify Moscow of the presence of Turkish troops in the area hit by shelling, despite its forces being in regular communication with the Russian military.

Russian war planes did not carry out any airstrikes in the area at the time of the incident and Moscow did everything it could to help once it learned of the Turkish troop presence, the ministry was reported as saying.

The airstrike came after a Russian delegation spent two days in Ankara for talks with Turkish officials on the situation in Idlib, where the Syrian government had started an offensive against rebels and extremists. The battles have sent hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing toward the Turkish border.

Turkey hosts nearly 3.6 million Syrians and under a 2016 deal with the European Union agreed to step up efforts to halt the flow of refugees to Europe. Since then, Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to "open the gates" in several disputes with European states.

"We have decided, effectively immediately, not to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land or sea," said a Turkish official, who requested anonymity. "All refugees, including Syrians, are now welcome to cross into the European Union."

The DHA news agency reported that nearly 300 refugees were gathering at the border with Greece, while others massed on beaches facing Greek islands off Turkey's western coast.

On Friday morning, broadcaster NTV showed images of dozens of people, carrying rucksacks, suitcases and plastic bags, crossing fields toward the Greek frontier.

The airstrike also came after Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters retook a strategic northwestern town from government forces on Thursday, cutting a key highway just days after the government reopened it for the first time since 2012.

Despite losing the town of Saraqeb, Syrian government forces made major gains to the south. Damascus now controls almost the entire southern part of Idlib Province after capturing more than 20 villages on Thursday, state media said.

AGENCIES - XINHUA