Clashes in northern Syria drift from Idlib to Aleppo
As the Idlib escalation winds down to a stalemate between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Turkish troops, the clashes are shifting to Aleppo.
The epicenter of the clashes in northwest Syria seems to have shifted away from Idlib as Russian-backed Syrian government forces have concentrated their efforts on western Aleppo. The Syrian regime is striving to outmaneuver Turkey by triggering a mass refugee flow into the country.
In response, Turkey threatened the Syrian regime. “These are our last warnings, the final countdown has begun,” Erdogan said Feb. 19, addressing his parliamentary group. “The operation in Idlib is imminent.”
Syrian government forces have captured some 20% of the territory in Idlib and some 15% of the territory in Aleppo since early February despite Turkey’s massive build-up in the region to counter the offensive. The clashes were mainly concentrated on Saraqeb, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Idlib city, Feb. 3-12.
The shift toward western Aleppo, where the situation has been relatively stable since 2012, came after Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) factions downed a regime helicopter near Nayrab on Feb 12.
