According to the source, the new Turkish base is located on the eastern slope of the strategic Jabal al-Zawiya plateau in southern Idlib, increasing Ankara’s posts in this area to 20.

Nearly 70 Turkish observation posts were established along the lines of contact with Syrian Arab Army bases in Idlib province and some areas in Latakia, Hama and Aleppo provinces, governed by the Detente Zone system agreed in 2017 between Iran, Turkey and Russia.

By late 2020, the Turkish military troops had to withdraw from 12 observation posts that, following a military anti-terrorist operation by the Syrian army, were besieged within the government-controlled regions.

Turkey has controlled since 2018 large areas in Syria and maintains 114 military posts that are distributed in five provinces.

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