Tensions are not only rising between Turkey and Syria, but also between Turkey, Russia and Iran, especially after Turkey unleashed an airstrike on Hezbollah. Turkish strikes, using drones and smart missiles, hit Hezbollah headquarters near Saraqeb killing nine of its members and wounding 30. According to a commander in the regional alliance backing Damascus, it was one of the bloodiest attacks on the Iran-backed group in Syria. The Observatory said 48 pro-Damascus troops in all had been killed by Turkish strikes. This is another step in the continued escalation in the region between Syria (back by Russia), Turkey and Iran.
After 34 of his nation’s soldiers were killed, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that he had asked President Vladimir Putin for Russia to step aside in Syria and leave Turkey to deal with Syrian forces alone. Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, have waged a major assault to capture the northwest province of Idlib, the last remaining territory held by rebels backed by Turkey. With diplomacy sponsored by Ankara and Moscow to ease tensions in tatters, Turkey has come closer than ever to confrontation with Russia on the battlefield. Speaking in Istanbul, Erdogan said he had told Putin in a phone call that Turkey does not intend to leave Syria right now.
"We did not go there because we were invited by (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad). We went there because we were invited by the people of Syria. We don't intend to leave before the people of Syria say, 'okay, this is done’," Erdogan added. Russia and Turkey have held three rounds of talks in which the first two did not yield a ceasefire. Russia's Foreign Ministry said the two sides agreed in recent talks to reduce tensions on the ground in Idlib while continuing military action there. However, as seen in the past months, any ceasefire agreement is subject to immediate change depending on how the ground situation escalates.
After the death of its soldiers in a Syrian government airstrike, Turkey said it would allow the migrants that it hosts to freely pass to Europe. Their fear is that more immigrants will come into Turkey from Syria and overwhelm their immigration centers. Erdogan said that in Istanbul 18,000 migrants have crossed the border and noted the number could rise to 25,000-30,000.
"We will not close these doors in the coming period, and this will continue. Why? The European Union needs to keep its promises. We don't have to take care of this many refugees, to feed them," Erdogan said.
This was met with resistance in Western Europe as Greek police fired teargas toward migrants who were gathered on its border with Turkey and who were demanding entry. The European Union has been wary of increased immigration into their own nations as they still deal with prior immigrants who had come into that region.
Erdogan complained the funds from the European Union to help Turkey support refugees arrived too slowly. He asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to send the funds directly to the Turkish government. Turkey's borders to Europe were closed to migrants under an accord between Turkey and the European Union that halted the 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people crossed into Europe by foot. This has left Turkey footing the bill, so to speak, of the immigration crisis leading to tense relations between Turkey and Western Europe.
Pray- Pray for the situation in the region and for the refugees that are fleeing the region.