Turkey not involved in Aleppo, won't allow 'terrorist-led state': FM
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Turkey claims it is not involved in the launch of the terrorist attacks on Aleppo, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and other armed factions.
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Terrorist groups stationed outside Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP)
Turkey is not involved in the ongoing struggles in Aleppo but is taking precautions to prevent a potential displacement wave, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated on Friday.
Amid the prompt activation of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, along with several other terrorist factions, attacking Syria's Aleppo and Idlib provinces, as well as their countrysides, Fidan stated that the United States provides the lifeline of such terrorist groups in the region, noting that they would be "unable to continue for three days without Washington's support."
Fidan claimed that Turkey "would never allow the terrorist structure in Syria to turn into a state."
However, field sources reported that since the Turkish-backed National Army militia participated in the battle alongside HTS, this reflected clear Turkish support for HTS—designated as a terrorist organization—to secure any gains on the frontlines after Turkey's failure to achieve political advancements in its relations with the Syrian government.
The sources further noted that Turkey aims to leverage this support to pressure the Syrian government into entering new negotiations to normalize relations with Ankara.
Meanwhile, Egypt expressed deep concerns regarding the situation in Syria, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty extending Cairo's support to Damascus and its national institutions in combatting terrorism and asserting the sovereignty, independence, and unity of its territory.
Most aggressive confrontation in years
The Syrian Army successfully repelled the advance of the joint operations room of terrorists southeast of Idlib, as fierce clashes continue to rage on the western Aleppo front.
On Thursday, the Syrian Army launched a counteroffensive to retake positions it had previously vacated in southeastern Idlib.
The army regained control of the village of Jobas and forced militants to retreat from the villages of Dadikh and Kafr Batekh in eastern Idlib, with the heaviest fighting concentrated around these areas. Syrian forces also conducted targeted rocket strikes to prevent militants from returning to these strategic locations.
Intense fighting continues on two fronts in rural Aleppo between the Syrian Army and armed groups. The first front is in Andan and the second is in Khan al-Asal, where militants are desperately trying to break through, as of Friday.
In a related development, Syrian warplanes launched a series of strikes against a key operations headquarters of the joint operations room of militants on the outskirts of the town of Mare' in northern Aleppo, resulting in significant casualties among the militants.
On the Idlib front, armed groups are attempting to open a new axis after their failure to advance further toward the M5 international highway for all traffic from the south to Aleppo, through Hama and SE Idlib. Heavy fighting was underway toward Khan al-Sabil, located south of Idlib, which remains under Syrian army control.
Read more: Terrorists in Syria's Aleppo attack dormitory, kill 4 students
