President Assad: Idlib battle basis for ridding Syria of terrorism

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has described the defeating of the Takfiri terrorists holed up in Idlib as the key to ending the eight-year war gripping the country as he visited troops deployed to the frontline against the terrorists in the northwestern province.

Assad made the remarks in a meeting with Syrian army personnel on the frontlines of al-Habit town, on Idlib’s southern edges, on Tuesday.

“We have always said and we still say that Idlib battle is basic for ending chaos and terrorism in all the Syrian areas,” he said during his first visit to the embattled region since 2011.

Idlib remains the only large area in the hands of anti-Damascus militants after the Syrian military — backed by Iran and Russia — managed to undo militant gains across the country and bring back almost all of Syrian soil under government control.

• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad discussing a military map with army officers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad talking to Syrian soldiers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad consulting a military map with army officers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad looking through a monocular on the frontline during a visit to soldiers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad talking to soldiers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad discussing a military map with army officers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad talking to Syrian soldiers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad consulting a military map with army officers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)
• The handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on October 22, 2019, shows President Bashar al-Assad looking through a monocular on the frontline during a visit to soldiers in al-Habit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. (Via AFP)

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In January, the UN estimated that there were 20,000 terrorists in Idlib associated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a coalition of al-Qaeda-inspired terror outfits.

Over the past few days, Syrian troops have been deployed to parts of the country’s north to support the Kurds in the face of a Turkish military offensive, which was launched on October 9 after the US abruptly abandoned its longtime Kurdish allies and withdrew its forces from Syria’s north.

Turkey views the Kurds as terrorists linked to local autonomy-seeking militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The developments prompted the Kurds to reach out to the Damascus government for support, striking an agreement with Syrian troops to enter towns near the border with Turkey.

Lashing out at Ankara, Assad described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “robber,” who has robbed Syrian “factories, wheat and oil,” saying he is now “robbing the land.”

“When we face an aggression or robbery, we should stand by each other …, but some Syrians haven’t done that, particularly over the first years of the war… We told them not to bet on the abroad, but on the army, the people and the homeland,” he said, referring to the Kurds who had put their trust in the US and relied on its support.

The Syrian president further said that Syria’s first measure in the face of the Turkish offensive was “to communicate with different political and military forces on the ground, and we said that we are ready to support any group that would resist, and it isn’t a political decision, but a constitutional and national duty, and if we don’t do that, we don’t deserve the homeland.”

In the wake of Turkey’s Syria offensive earlier this month, Assad said the Damascus government would respond through all legitimate means available in the country’s northern areas.