Erdogan Govt. Planning to Rescue Terrorists as Syrian Army Prepares to Launch Second Phase of Military Operations

The Arabic-language Al-Watan newspaper quoted militants affiliated to the National Liberation Front (NFL) terrorist group as saying that Turkey plans to ask the Russian side to further extend truce in Northern Syria in an upcoming meeting which will probably be held in Ankara.

Meantime, local sources affiliated to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) said that over 2,500 Ankara-backed terrorists have arrived in battlefronts of Hama and Idlib from Northern and Northeastern Aleppo during the ceasefire.

Meantime, the truce was violated by terrorist groups and their consecutive fierce attacks at Monday midnight before the ceasefire deadline arrived.

Meantime, the AMN reported that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies are preparing to launch the second phase of their offensive in Northwestern Syria.

The first phase, which concentrated on areas under the control of the militants in Northwestern Hama, paved the way for the Syrian Army to expand their rule to Jabal Shashabou area and the jihadist-held Al-Ghab Plain.

The second phase of the offensive will concentrate on the Al-Ghab Plain, which has been the scene of clashes since the Jaysh Al-Fateh offensive in the Spring of 2015.

In order for this offensive to be successful, the Syrian Army will also need to capture the key mountaintop town of Kabani, which overlooks much of the Al-Ghab Plain and the nearby city of Jisr Al-Shughour.

The offensive will likely be successful if they can expel Tahrir al-Sham al-Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) and the Turkistani Party from Kabani.

In a relevant development on Monday, the Kurdish-language media reported that the Turkish government was planning to set up new military bases in Afrin region in Northwestern Aleppo concurrent with aggressive moves by the Turkish Army and its allied militants there.

The Kurdish-language Hawar News website quoted a special source in Afrin as saying that the Turkish Army has fully evacuated the residents of Dervish villages in Raju region in Afrin in Northwestern Aleppo to set a new military base there.

The source also pointed to the cutting off of thousands of trees in Dervish and Vejia towns in Shara region and the villages of Humam, Marvanieh Foqani and Tahtani in Western Jandaris region by Turkish Army and its allied militants, and said that Ankara is planning to build new military bases there.

Local sources in Afrin, meantime, reported that the Ankara-backed militants have torched 12,000 hectares of agricultural lands of villages of Jandaris region up to Mabtali near Afrin.

The Turkish Army has dispatched thousands of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants from Northern Aleppo to Hama to back up Tahrir al-Sham al-Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front), Kurdish-language media outlets said.

Hawar News website reported on Sunday that the Turkish Army has sent the terrorists under its umbrella of coalition to Northern Hama from Afrin and Izaz to support Tahrir al-Sham terrorists in its battle against the Syrian Army.

It noted that a military convoy comprising hundreds of Ankara-backed militants together with weapons and military equipment have been sent to Northern Hama via Qazawiyeh crossing in Southern Afrin.

Meantime, the sources close to the terrorist groups reiterated that hundreds of FSA terrorists have moved towards Idlib to reach battlefronts in Hama. The FSA terrorists moved from Izaz, Jarablus, Al-Bab and Afrin in Northern and Northeastern Aleppo.

Meantime, the Turkish Army sent several of its troops and military equipment, including its elite forces, to the city of Qiriq Khan in Hatay region in Southern Turkey behind borders with Syria.