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Extremist Syrian rebel group tests Turkey's limits in Idlib

Jihadi forces resisting the reopening of the key M4 highway in Idlib are squeezed between Turkey’s amity and military might, but Turkey itself is not without dilemmas.
An ambulance passes by Islamist rebels from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham outside the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya,Syria July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC1BD239EA00
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Tensions on the key M4 highway in Syria’s rebel-held province of Idlib have climbed to new levels, creating dilemmas for both the jihadis dominating the region and Turkish forces seeking to reopen the road under a deal with Russia. 

Efforts to reopen the M4 — a key requirement of the deal that Turkey and Russia sealed March 5 in Moscow — led to deadly unrest April 26 as Turkish forces took on a crowd that barricaded the highway outside a village near al-Nayrab. In the wake of the killing of two Turkish soldiers in a March 19 attack in the area, the Turkish forces opened fire on the crowd, which pelted the soldiers with stones after an initial attempt to disperse it with tear gas. Two people were killed and several wounded in the confrontation, which was followed by a mortar attack on a Turkish outpost in al-Nayrab that left several soldiers injured. In response, Turkish drones hit two emplacements of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the radical group dominating Idlib, and a vehicle. HTS lost two men. 

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