Dangerous confrontations are cropping up between Turkish troops and those of the Syrian regime.

As part of an agreement involving the ongoing Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, Turkey recently completed its 12th and last military observation post in Idlib — the northwestern Syrian province that has become a “jihadi reserve.” With that done, and with regime pressure mounting on Idlib, Turkish troops and their rebel allies on May 27 ventured into the adjacent Jabal al-Akrad region in the province of Latakia.

Syrian government forces shelled the mountaintop where the Turkish troops were positioned, and fired an antitank missile at a rebel-operated vehicle, killing five fighters. Reports said the Syrian army used missiles and artillery fire, trying to force the Turkish troops out of the region. On May 31, Al-Masdar news reported that Turkey has established an unauthorized observation post in Latakia, which Syria says violates the Astana agreement. Regime forces have responded by repeatedly shelling the region.

Several days earlier, the Turkish army sent fresh equipment to the region between southeastern Idlib and northern Hama. A convoy of some 100 vehicles headed toward three points in the Morek, Sarman and Jabal Shahshabu areas, reportedly escorted by Faylaq al-Sham, a rebel group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.