Syrian Army Gains Foothold Near Idlib Border Crossing To Turkey - Reports

Muhammad Irfan Published February 14, 2020 | 07:30 PM

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2020) Syrian government forces on Friday took control of an area in the country's northwest that lies only four miles from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing to Turkey, media said.

An advance party knocked out militants from the former headquarters of the Syrian army's 46th division in the volatile Idlib province, the pro-Syrian government newspaper Al-Watan reported.

The troops are reportedly less than two miles away from the strategic city of Al Atarib on the Bab al-Hawa road and control the nearby villages of Urem Kubra and Urem Sugra.

Earlier in the week, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the Syrian government stop the Idlib offensive and pull away from Turkish observation posts by the end of February, warning that a failure to do so would lead to a military escalation.