[D66] Escalatie in Syrië

[A.OUT]

wsws.org:

Turkey bombs Syria after losing dozens of troops to Syrian-Russian airstrike
By Alex Lantier
28 February 2020

The Turkish military bombed targets across Syria last night and early 
this morning, after dozens of its soldiers died in airstrikes near the 
strategic town of Saraqeb in northern Syria’s Idlib province.

Anonymous Western officials told the press early this morning that 
Turkey has requested an urgent meeting of the NATO alliance under 
Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, which calls for military 
consultation among members when one member state’s security is 
threatened. The danger is growing that all-out war could erupt between 
NATO and the Syrian government’s major international backers, Iran and 
Russia.

For weeks, Syrian government troops backed by Moscow have fought to 
expel Turkish-backed militias from their last stronghold they built up 
inside Syria during the nine-year NATO proxy war in Syria. In recent 
weeks, Russian-backed Syrian government troops had taken back control of 
dozens of towns including Saraqeb. Yesterday, however, Syrian Al 
Qaeda-linked militias backed by Turkish troops briefly retook Saraqeb.

Earlier yesterday, Russia’s Rossiya 24 television reported that Russian 
warplanes were under fire from Turkish troops firing antiaircraft 
missiles, stating: “Syrian and Russian planes are stopping the rebels 
again and again. But the sky above Idlib is also dangerous. The rebels 
and Turkish specialists are actively using portable air defence systems.”

As of this writing, multiple fragmentary and conflicting reports are 
circulating on the initial air strike yesterday evening that killed 
Turkish troops. The US-backed Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) 
reported that 34 Turkish soldiers had been killed in a bombing between 
the towns of Baluon and Al-Bara. The governor of Turkey’s neighboring 
Hatay province, Rahmi Dogan, issued a series of announcements that nine, 
then 22, 29 and finally, Friday morning, 33 Turkish troops had died, and 
36 had been wounded in the attack.

Turkish officials speaking anonymously told the German news magazine Der 
Spiegel that “at least 50 Turkish troops had died.” However, the 
official speaking to Der Spiegel claimed it is unclear whether it was 
Syrian or Russian airplanes that launched the attacks.

Ankara took Twitter offline inside Turkey for several hours, amid signs 
of an explosive political crisis unfolding inside the Turkish 
government, including its mounting fear of domestic popular opposition 
to the war in Syria.

While Turkish television stations took normal programming off the air 
and ran back-to-back reports that Syrian regime forces have lost 1,709 
soldiers and large quantities of military equipment, the Turkish cabinet 
held an emergency meeting. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 
personally chaired the meeting, which was also attended by members of 
the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as well as National 
Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief Hakan Fidan.

During the meeting, the government announced investigations into 91 
Twitter accounts for allegedly spreading criticisms of the government 
during the crisis.

Once Twitter was functioning again, Yeni Şafak editor İbrahim Karagül 
issued hysterical denunciations of opponents of Erdogan’s war policies 
on social media: "Tonight, one should carefully note down traitors, 
Turkey's enemies, influence agents of the [Syrian] regime, those who 
undermine the national solidarity ... domestic intruders on social media."

Early this morning, as the Turkish emergency cabinet meeting continued 
to unfold, Turkey launched artillery attacks on Idlib province and 
missile attacks on Latakia, Homs, and nearby areas of western Syria. It 
was also reported later that Israel had attacked the Syrian government’s 
military positions in Quneitra province, from the vantage point offered 
by Israeli-held territory in the Golan Heights.

At the same time, Turkish officials launched a series of emergency calls 
to contact their US and NATO counterparts, including US Secretary of 
Defense Mark Esper, US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and NATO 
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

A Russian delegation headed by Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Syria 
Sergey Vershinin was in Ankara yesterday for talks, but they reportedly 
ended in a stalemate without any agreement.

The current danger of an all-out clash between Russia and Turkey is the 
product of nine years of a NATO proxy war for regime change waged since 
2011 in Syria. Washington together with other NATO member states, along 
with their Middle East allies, have backed militias linked to Al Qaeda 
in a bid to overthrow the Syrian government, while Russia and Iran have 
supported President Bashar al-Assad. Both sides have proceeded as if, 
despite this explosive situation, they would never come to a direct 
NATO-Russia confrontation. Yet that is precisely what is now emerging.

The danger of a military clash that could escalate out of control into a 
confrontation between the NATO alliance and Russia, both of which are 
armed with nuclear weapons, is now very real. While contradictory 
messages came out of Washington last night, several top officials made 
clear they would consider all-out war is “on the table” as a possible 
response.

Told by journalists of the bombing of Turkish troops, US Ambassador to 
NATO Kay Bailey Hutchinson said: “Let me say this because I just learned 
this: Of course, everything is on the table. This is a new development. 
This is a big development.”

US Senator Lindsey Graham similarly issued a statement yesterday calling 
for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Idlib—that is, for shooting 
down Russian and Syrian fighters over that region. “The world is sitting 
on its hands and watching the destruction of Idlib by Assad, Iran, and 
the Russians,” Graham declared in a statement. “I am confident if the 
world, led by the United States, pushed back against Iran, Russia, and 
Assad that they would stand down, paving the way for political 
negotiations to end this war in Syria.”

However, Turkish media also cited a tweet by Congressional staffer Alan 
Makovsky, who said: “I hope US officials’ frequently stated support for 
‘our NATO ally Turkey’ of late isn’t raising false expectations in 
Ankara… US won’t risk war with Russia to preserve Turkey’s position in 
Syria.”

As Turkish forces bombed targets across Syria, Erdogan’s ruling Justice 
and Development Party (AKP) appealed to the NATO alliance for military 
support against the Russian-backed Syrian regime.

AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik all but called for a declaration of war on 
Syria, telling CNN Türk: “The regime has become an enemy element with 
all its land and air elements. The necessary answer is given. The regime 
elements are now enemies of the Republic of Turkey. … We will inform 
NATO. We call on NATO to consult. We see this as an attack by a killer 
regime on the international community. We expect a total reaction. Our 
attempts on this are continuing. The consultation process with NATO 
begins tomorrow morning. We expect concrete support from now on.”