Four <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/first-turkish-soldier-killed-during-syria-operation-defence-ministry-255146">Turkish soldiers</a> were killed Monday by Syrian regime shelling in the northwestern region of Idlib, Turkey's defence ministry said.

Nine other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkish forces retaliated and "destroyed targets".

The ministry said the soldiers came under attack despite previous coordination on where they would be in the region.

It added Turkey was following the latest developments closely and that the necessary measures would be taken.

Turkey has 12 observation posts in the region as part of a Turkey-Russia deal to prevent a regime offensive.

The deaths come after local media reported Sunday that Turkey's military sent reinforcements to the region to bolster the forces stationed at the posts.

The Syrian regime, supported by Russian airstrikes, has intensified its assault in recent weeks against Idlib, the last major opposition bastion.

Turkish President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkish-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-says-trump-can-waive-sanctions-on-turkey-report-236013">Recep Tayyip Erdogan</a> last week warned Ankara could use "military force" against Syria as he hit out against the "cruelty" of the Damascus regime.

Turkey, which is home to over 3.5 million Syrian refugees, fears another influx from renewed violence in Idlib.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already been displaced in the region, while many of them have fled towards the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/big-success-on-turkey-syria-border-safe-zone-created-trump-257746">Turkey-Syria border</a>.

Erdogan previously said Turkey was building homes on the Syrian side of the border to shelter those fleeing.

Four Turkish soldiers were killed Monday by Syrian regime shelling in the northwestern region of Idlib, Turkey's defence ministry said. Nine other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkish forces retaliated and "destroyed targets".

Four Turkish soldiers were killed Monday by Syrian regime shelling in the northwestern region of Idlib, Turkey's defence ministry said. Nine other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkish forces retaliated and "destroyed targets". The ministry said the soldiers came under attack despite previous coordination on where they would be in the region. It added Turkey was following the latest developments closely and that the necessary measures would be taken. Turkey has 12 observation posts in the region as part of a Turkey-Russia deal to prevent a regime offensive. The deaths come after local media reported Sunday that Turkey's military sent reinforcements to the region to bolster the forces stationed at the posts. The Syrian regime, supported by Russian airstrikes, has intensified its assault in recent weeks against Idlib, the last major opposition bastion. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week warned Ankara could use "military force" against Syria as he hit out against the "cruelty" of the Damascus regime. Turkey, which is home to over 3.5 million Syrian refugees, fears another influx from renewed violence in Idlib. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been displaced in the region, while many of them have fled towards the Turkey-Syria border. Erdogan previously said Turkey was building homes on the Syrian side of the border to shelter those fleeing.

Four Turkish soldiers killed by Syria regime shelling in Idlib

Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country "will not hesitate to take action to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists" if it identifies Kurdish fighters near the border while adding that he "believed in his Russian partners".

"We halted operation, in that area, in northeastern part of Syria. If we see any YPG/PKK terrorists we will not hesitate to take action to eliminate them," Cavusoglu told reporters in Geneva, ahead of a UN-backed meeting tasked with amending Syria's constitution.

"But we cannot trust the terrorists", Cavusoglu added.

Watch Video:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/turkey-kurds-conflict-kurdish-commander-supports-german-plan-258038/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Under an agreement reached by Russian President Putin and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in Sochi last week, a 150-hour deadline was given for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters to withdraw from a zone extending 30 kilometres back from the Turkish border. The deadline expired on Tuesday.

Turkey views YPG as a terror group linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) outfit.

Turkey President Erdogan has said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured him that Syrian Kurdish fighters would not be allowed to stay in Syria along the Turkish border.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country "will not hesitate to take action to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists" if it identifies Kurdish fighters near the border while adding that he "believed in his Russian partners".

Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country "will not hesitate to take action to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists" if it identifies Kurdish fighters near the border while adding that he "believed in his Russian partners". "We halted operation, in that area, in northeastern part of Syria. If we see any YPG/PKK terrorists we will not hesitate to take action to eliminate them," Cavusoglu told reporters in Geneva, ahead of a UN-backed meeting tasked with amending Syria's constitution. "But we cannot trust the terrorists", Cavusoglu added. Watch Video: Under an agreement reached by Russian President Putin and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in Sochi last week, a 150-hour deadline was given for Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters to withdraw from a zone extending 30 kilometres back from the Turkish border. The deadline expired on Tuesday. Turkey views YPG as a terror group linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) outfit. Turkey President Erdogan has said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured him that Syrian Kurdish fighters would not be allowed to stay in Syria along the Turkish border.

Will not hesitate to take action if we see YPG terrorists: Turkey foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

The Syria-Turkey border security is worsening due to sustained battles that left large numbers of Syrians fleeing their homes. The U.S. President Donald Trump continued to defend on Saturday his controversial decision to pull some U.S. troops out of an area of Syria where they had been supporting Kurdish forces. Watch this video to know more.

Day 5 of Turkey's military operation in Syria

The Syria-Turkey border security is worsening due to sustained battles that left large numbers of Syrians fleeing their homes. U.S. President Donald Trump continued to defend on Saturday his controversial decision to pull some U.S. troops out of an area of Syria where they had been supporting Kurdish forces.

Security worsening at Turkey-Syria border, Trump continues to defend his decision

About 2,000 people were killed and entire neighbourhoods razed in southeasternTurkey&nbsp;in 18 months of government security operations characterised by massive destruction and serious human rights violations, the United Nations said on Friday (March 10).

The UN&nbsp;human rights office said in a report on the period July 2015-December 2016 that up to 500,000 people, mostly Kurds, had been displaced, while satellite imagery showed the &quot;enormous scale of destruction of the housing stock by heavy weaponry,&quot; spokesman for the UN&nbsp;High Commissioner of Human Rights, Rupert Coleville, told reporters in Geneva.

UN&nbsp;investigators documented numerous killings, disappearances and torture, as well as other human rights violations. The most serious abuses took place during periods of curfew imposed for several days at a time.

The investigators were not granted access by&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;and as of last month the UN&nbsp;has not received any formal response to its concerns, the report said.

UN&nbsp;High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra&#39;ad al Hussein said in a statement on Friday that&nbsp;Turkey&nbsp;had &quot;contested the veracity of the very serious allegations&quot; in the report.

Coleville expressed Zeid&#39;s particular concern that an independent investigation was urgently needed.

&quot;It appears that not a single suspect was apprehended and not a single individual was prosecuted,&quot; Colville said.

Almost 800 those killed were members of the security forces, and an unspecified number of the other 1,200 may have been involved in violent or non-violent action against the state, the report said.

Among the documented killings were those of up to 189 people trapped for weeks in basements in the town of Cizre in early 2016, without water, food, medical attention or power. They were killed by fire induced by shelling.

Colville said the death toll figures came from the Turkish government. It says it is targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it regards as a terrorist group.

&quot;The gravity of the allegations, the scale of the destruction, and the displacement of more than 355,000 people mean that in the High Commissioner&#39;s view, an independent investigation is both urgent and essential,&quot; Colville said.

Although Zeid has been invited to&nbsp;Turkey, Colville said a UN&nbsp;investigative team needed to go first and it would be &quot;absurd&quot; to think Zeid&#39;s visit could be a substitute.

(Reuters)

The UN?human rights office said in a report on the period July 2015-December 2016 that up to 500,000 people, mostly Kurds, had been displaced

About 2,000 people were killed and entire neighbourhoods razed in southeasternTurkey in 18 months of government security operations characterised by massive destruction and serious human rights violations, the United Nations said on Friday (March 10). The UN human rights office said in a report on the period July 2015-December 2016 that up to 500,000 people, mostly Kurds, had been displaced, while satellite imagery showed the "enormous scale of destruction of the housing stock by heavy weaponry," spokesman for the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Rupert Coleville, told reporters in Geneva. UN investigators documented numerous killings, disappearances and torture, as well as other human rights violations. The most serious abuses took place during periods of curfew imposed for several days at a time. The investigators were not granted access by Turkey and as of last month the UN has not received any formal response to its concerns, the report said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said in a statement on Friday that Turkey had "contested the veracity of the very serious allegations" in the report. Coleville expressed Zeid's particular concern that an independent investigation was urgently needed. "It appears that not a single suspect was apprehended and not a single individual was prosecuted," Colville said. Almost 800 those killed were members of the security forces, and an unspecified number of the other 1,200 may have been involved in violent or non-violent action against the state, the report said. Among the documented killings were those of up to 189 people trapped for weeks in basements in the town of Cizre in early 2016, without water, food, medical attention or power. They were killed by fire induced by shelling. Colville said the death toll figures came from the Turkish government. It says it is targeting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it regards as a terrorist group. "The gravity of the allegations, the scale of the destruction, and the displacement of more than 355,000 people mean that in the High Commissioner's view, an independent investigation is both urgent and essential," Colville said. Although Zeid has been invited to Turkey, Colville said a UN investigative team needed to go first and it would be "absurd" to think Zeid's visit could be a substitute. (Reuters)

2,000 killed in southeast Turkey over 18 months: United Nations

Dozens of people were killed in Turkish bombardments in Syria on Sunday as Ankara ramped up its unprecedented offensive against the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants. 
 
Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish &quot;terrorists&quot; and insisted the army was doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. 
 
But the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 civilians were killed in Turkish shelling and air strikes on two areas held by pro-Kurdish forces in northern Syria, the first report of significant civilian casualties in Turkey&#39;s operation. 
 
The bombardments came after Ankara suffered its first military fatality in the two-pronged offensive against IS and the Syrian Kurdish People&#39;s Protection Units (YPG) militia. 
 
Addressing a rally in the southern city of Gaziantep, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to combat the jihadists and the US-backed Kurdish fighters &quot;with the same determination&quot;. 
 
&quot;We will make any kind of contribution to the work to clear Daesh (IS) from Syria,&quot; Erdogan told thousands of flag-waving supporters in the city where a suicide bomber suspected of IS links blew himself up at a wedding party last weekend. 
 
Regarding &quot;the PYD (Democratic Union Party) terror group in Syria, we have just the same determination,&quot; Erdogan said, referring to the main pro-Kurdish party in northern Syria and its YPG militia. 
 
On Sunday, Turkish forces ramped up their offensive against pro-Kurdish forces near a town wrested back from IS this week by Turkish-backed Arab rebels. 
 
According to the Observatory, Turkish artillery fire and air strikes on Jeb el-Kussa village killed at least 20 civilians and wounded 50 others. Another 20 were killed and 25 wounded in air strikes near the town of Al-Amarneh, it said. 
 
The monitor also said at least four Kurdish fighters were killed and 15 wounded in the two areas. 
 
Turkey said the dead were 25 &quot;terrorists&quot; from the YPG and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers&#39; Party (PKK), state-run Anadolu news agency said. 
 
&quot;All possible measures are being taken to prevent harm to the civilian population living in the area,&quot; the army said, quoted by Anadolu. 
 
Sunday&#39;s operations took Turkey deeper inside Syria, into an area where the Kurdish forces that control much of the border had begun to expand. 
 
Jeb el-Kussa is located 14 kilometres (almost nine miles) south of Jarabulus, the IS border stronghold which Turkish-backed Arab rebels captured on the first day of the incursion. 
 
The rebels say they have captured at least nine towns and villages, including Jarabulus, from IS and Kurdish forces since Wednesday. 
 
In a statement Saturday, Kurdish forces accused Ankara of seeking to &quot;expand its occupation&quot; inside Syria. 
 
The latest fighting is likely to raise deep concerns with Washington, Turkey&#39;s NATO ally which supports the YPG as an effective adversary of IS. 
 
But Turkey considers the YPG a &quot;terrorist&quot; group and vehemently opposes its attempts to create a contiguous autonomous zone along its border, fearing it could strengthen the Kurdish rebels fighting the state in southeast Turkey. 
 
Ankara says the YPG has broken a promise made to the US to go back across the Euphrates River after advancing westwards earlier this month. 
 
On Sunday, the first Turkish casualty in the operation was flown home from Gaziantep for burial in his home province of Duzce on the Black Sea. 
 
Erdogan also met relatives of the victims of the August 20 suicide bombing in Gaziantep, which hit a Kurdish wedding, reaffirming his earlier claim that the bomber was a 14-year-old boy. 
 
Ankara&#39;s military intervention has added another dimension to Syria&#39;s complex multi-front war, a devastating conflict that has killed more than 290,000 people and forced millions from their homes since March 2011. 
 
The Observatory said government forces on Sunday resumed shelling and air strikes on the rebel-held Waer district of Homs city, killing three people and wounding another 20.&nbsp; 
 
Much of the heaviest fighting this summer has focused on the second city of Aleppo, which is roughly divided between rebel forces and President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s troops. 
 
Global powers have been pushing for 48-hour humanitarian ceasefires in the embattled city. 
 
Russia, which backs Assad, has endorsed the proposal. But some rebel groups have rejected the plan. 
 
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday said it was crucial to condemn Damascus&#39; use of chemical weapons in Syria ahead of a crunch UN Security Council meeting on the issue.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I cannot see the reasons or arguments for not condemning the use of chemical weapons,&quot; he said in remarks apparently directed at Russia.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish 'terrorists' but a rights group said at least 40 civilians were killed in Turkish shelling & air raids

Dozens of people were killed in Turkish bombardments in Syria on Sunday as Ankara ramped up its unprecedented offensive against the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants. Ankara said it had killed 25 Kurdish "terrorists" and insisted the army was doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. But the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 40 civilians were killed in Turkish shelling and air strikes on two areas held by pro-Kurdish forces in northern Syria, the first report of significant civilian casualties in Turkey's operation. The bombardments came after Ankara suffered its first military fatality in the two-pronged offensive against IS and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia. Addressing a rally in the southern city of Gaziantep, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to combat the jihadists and the US-backed Kurdish fighters "with the same determination". "We will make any kind of contribution to the work to clear Daesh (IS) from Syria," Erdogan told thousands of flag-waving supporters in the city where a suicide bomber suspected of IS links blew himself up at a wedding party last weekend. Regarding "the PYD (Democratic Union Party) terror group in Syria, we have just the same determination," Erdogan said, referring to the main pro-Kurdish party in northern Syria and its YPG militia. On Sunday, Turkish forces ramped up their offensive against pro-Kurdish forces near a town wrested back from IS this week by Turkish-backed Arab rebels. According to the Observatory, Turkish artillery fire and air strikes on Jeb el-Kussa village killed at least 20 civilians and wounded 50 others. Another 20 were killed and 25 wounded in air strikes near the town of Al-Amarneh, it said. The monitor also said at least four Kurdish fighters were killed and 15 wounded in the two areas. Turkey said the dead were 25 "terrorists" from the YPG and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), state-run Anadolu news agency said. "All possible measures are being taken to prevent harm to the civilian population living in the area," the army said, quoted by Anadolu. Sunday's operations took Turkey deeper inside Syria, into an area where the Kurdish forces that control much of the border had begun to expand. Jeb el-Kussa is located 14 kilometres (almost nine miles) south of Jarabulus, the IS border stronghold which Turkish-backed Arab rebels captured on the first day of the incursion. The rebels say they have captured at least nine towns and villages, including Jarabulus, from IS and Kurdish forces since Wednesday. In a statement Saturday, Kurdish forces accused Ankara of seeking to "expand its occupation" inside Syria. The latest fighting is likely to raise deep concerns with Washington, Turkey's NATO ally which supports the YPG as an effective adversary of IS. But Turkey considers the YPG a "terrorist" group and vehemently opposes its attempts to create a contiguous autonomous zone along its border, fearing it could strengthen the Kurdish rebels fighting the state in southeast Turkey. Ankara says the YPG has broken a promise made to the US to go back across the Euphrates River after advancing westwards earlier this month. On Sunday, the first Turkish casualty in the operation was flown home from Gaziantep for burial in his home province of Duzce on the Black Sea. Erdogan also met relatives of the victims of the August 20 suicide bombing in Gaziantep, which hit a Kurdish wedding, reaffirming his earlier claim that the bomber was a 14-year-old boy. Ankara's military intervention has added another dimension to Syria's complex multi-front war, a devastating conflict that has killed more than 290,000 people and forced millions from their homes since March 2011. The Observatory said government forces on Sunday resumed shelling and air strikes on the rebel-held Waer district of Homs city, killing three people and wounding another 20. Much of the heaviest fighting this summer has focused on the second city of Aleppo, which is roughly divided between rebel forces and President Bashar al-Assad's troops. Global powers have been pushing for 48-hour humanitarian ceasefires in the embattled city. Russia, which backs Assad, has endorsed the proposal. But some rebel groups have rejected the plan. Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday said it was crucial to condemn Damascus' use of chemical weapons in Syria ahead of a crunch UN Security Council meeting on the issue. "I cannot see the reasons or arguments for not condemning the use of chemical weapons," he said in remarks apparently directed at Russia. (AFP)

Dozens killed as Turkey ramps up offensive in Syria