Erdogan fails to end Idlib fighting despite plea to Putin

Problems for Turkey in Syria are piling up following a failed attempt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ask Russia for help to stop a Syrian government offensive in the embattled province of Idlib.

During a visit to Moscow on August 27, Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin it was unacceptable that Syrian forces were “raining death on civilians from the air and land under the pretence of battling terrorism.”

Troops of Syrian President Bashar Assad have been pushing through southern parts of Idlib in an offensive to return the last rebel-held province in the country to government control. Neighbouring Turkey, which has taken in 3.6 million Syrian refugees and supports some rebel groups in Idlib, is concerned that the fighting could send hundreds of thousands of additional refugees over the border.

Read the full article in The Arab Weekly.