In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge.

“The situation is very bad, rain comes into the tent,” said Bushra Sulaiman al-Hamdo, 65, lifting the ground sheet to show the sodden earth where her bedridden husband lay. “There’s not enough food, there is no assistance organization, no drinking water.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was widely criticized by the United Nations and Western leaders three years ago when he ordered Turkish troops across the Syrian border into Afrin, an action seen as opportunistic and destabilizing. Thousands of Kurdish families fled the Turkish invasion, along with the Kurdish fighters. In their place came hundreds of thousands of Syrians from other areas, who have swollen the population, taking over homes and camping on farming land.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkish-president-erdogan-accuses-us-of-backing-terrorists-in-iraq-363811">Turkish President Erdogan accuses US of backing 'terrorists' in Iraq</a>

Another Turkish intervention in 2019, farther east in Syria, met still more opprobrium amid accusations of human rights violations under Turkey’s watch.

But as an end to the decadelong Syrian civil war still confounds the world, Turkey has become the only international force on the ground protecting some five million displaced and vulnerable civilians. Today, the Turkish soldiers are all that stand between them and potential slaughter at the hands of President Bashar Assad’s forces and those of his Russian allies.

Turkish officials recently escorted journalists on a rare visit to Afrin, a district of northwestern Syria, where Turkey has created its own de facto safe zone along the border. The Turks were keen to show their achievements in infrastructure, education and health services.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-imposes-sanctions-on-turkey-over-russian-s-400-missiles-350017">US imposes sanctions on Turkey over Russian S-400 missiles</a>

But they also did not hide the continuing plight of the Syrians under their charge, who despite their evident hardship made clear that they were glad the Turks were there, at least for now.

“Here, at least I can stay alive,” said Amar Muhammad, 35, a porter in the market in Afrin. A former rebel fighter from Damascus, he said he risked death or detention by the Syrian government. “There, I would be dead. There, I would be thinking all the time, ‘Will they arrest me?’”

The Turkish intervention in Afrin was not selfless. Turkey always had its own interests in mind. Its main aim was to root out Kurdish forces it considers a security threat and provide a space for the residual rebel forces fighting against Assad, a loathed rival. The Syrians who settled around Afrin have fled Syrian government forces.

Muhammad and his cousin Muhammad Amar were among the rebel fighters evacuated in a convoy of buses from the Damascus suburb of Ghouta and brought to Afrin under a peace deal arranged between Russia and Turkey three years ago.

“We were forcibly displaced,” Muhammad said. Refused a chance to join the Turkish-backed security forces, they were demobilized and left to make a living how they could. “I swear to God some people go to sleep hungry. We don’t know how we are surviving.”

Turkey has set up its own administration, trained and incorporated friendly Syrian militias into a military police force and set up compliant local Syrian councils to run things. The city has been connected to the Turkish electricity grid, ending years of blackouts; uses Turkish cellphones and currency; and has registered 500 Syrian companies for cross-border trade.

“Our main aim is to make their life more normal,” said Orhan Akturk, deputy governor of the adjoining Turkish province of Hatay, who is also responsible for Afrin. “Keep schools open, and hospitals working so people can resume their lives.”

But Turkey is also in Syria so that the Syrians do not end up in Turkey. Already the host of the largest Syrian refugee community in the world — 3.6 million Syrians are registered inside Turkey — Erdogan has long called for the establishment of a no-fly zone, or an internationally protected safe zone, in northern Syria.

As it stands, his forces have carved it out for themselves. While the U.N. supplies much of the assistance to the Syrians, Turkey has forced out many international aid groups to keep closer control itself.

Turkey first intervened in Syria in 2016 in a joint operation with the U.S. Army against the Islamic State group, then in Afrin in 2018, and again in 2019, after then-President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces from the region.

Erdogan’s agreement with Trump allowed Russia and the Syrian government to regain a footing in northeastern Syria, which was disastrous for the opposition. But then Ankara took an unexpected stand against a Russian and Syrian government offensive last year in the province of Idlib, showing the Turkish military was not only willing but able to defend the line.

Setting a red line in Idlib turned Turkey from a bad actor in the region to a good one, or at least one that shares mutual interests with Washington, said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a Washington-based organization involved in advocacy for Syria.

He called for the Biden administration to restart military-to-military communication with Turkey and provide it with logistical and intelligence support to bolster its defense of the part of Idlib that is still in rebel hands.

“Northwest Syria and Idlib is key to the whole,” he said. With 4 million people, 1 million of them children, crammed into an ever shrinking space, Idlib represents both a humanitarian and strategic necessity, he said. “Idlib alone, if attacked, would double the refugees in Europe.”

The Turks’ control, though welcomed by many Syrians who have fled from Assad’s government, is not uncontested. Turkey’s task in Afrin, in fact, has since been bedeviled by persistent terror attacks — 134 in 2 1/2 years — including four car bombs in the region this month. Security forces have thwarted hundreds more, Akturk said.

The Turkish police chief in Afrin said 99% of the attacks were the work of the PKK, the Kurdish separatist movement, and its affiliate in Syria, the YPG, which is allied with U.S. forces in combating the Islamic State.

The recent car bombs were concealed in trucks brought in from the Kurdish-controlled area of Manbij by unwitting traders, one of whom lost his own son in an explosion in Afrin’s industrial area, Akturk said.

Turkey will raise the issue of U.S. support for the Kurdish militia as a priority with the Biden administration, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said last week.

In Afrin the Turks have handled security like any NATO force, surrounding their administration building with high concrete blast walls and sealing off a “green zone” that encompasses the main shopping street in the center of the city.

The Syrian shopkeepers complain that business has dwindled as a consequence.

“We are surviving, but it is very difficult,” said Ibrahim Haji Khalil, owner of the Five Stars Ice Cream shop. Customers dropped dramatically after a massive fuel truck bomb hit the market last April, he said. “We used to have people in lines up the street but now there is no one.”

Said Sulaiman, the leader of the local council, pleaded for more assistance beyond what Turkey can provide. “We need more international support and more nongovernmental organizations to help,” he said.

For millions though, Turkey offers the only opportunity.

Syrian students are busy learning the Turkish language and seeking ways to get to Turkey to study or work, said Nour Hallak, a Syrian activist living in the Turkish-controlled part of Aleppo province. “It’s something that makes me laugh and cry at the same time,” he said. “Turkish language is spreading, it’s the choice of the people.”

For the families in the tented camp above the city, seeking protection from Turkey was their only option.

“We are 16 in one tent. Everything is very hard, to find wood, and food,” said Rasmia Hunan al-Abdullah, carrying a toddler in her arms. Her husband is bedridden and blind, she said. “Sometimes the children work and collect plastic.”

Families pressed forward asking for help in tracing relatives detained in the vast Syrian government prison system. Almost everyone had a family member detained by the Assad government, the camp organizer said.

“If we were not scared, we would not have come here,” said Jarir Sulaiman, one of a group of elders leaning on canes outside their communal tent.

Once a wealthy landowner, he said the Syrian government had cut down his olive groves after seizing control of their village, Khiara, south of Damascus. He ruled out returning home while Assad remained in power.

“We won’t go back to our villages until Turkey gives us protection,” he said. “Without the Turks we cannot survive.”

In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge.

In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge. “The situation is very bad, rain comes into the tent,” said Bushra Sulaiman al-Hamdo, 65, lifting the ground sheet to show the sodden earth where her bedridden husband lay. “There’s not enough food, there is no assistance organization, no drinking water.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was widely criticized by the United Nations and Western leaders three years ago when he ordered Turkish troops across the Syrian border into Afrin, an action seen as opportunistic and destabilizing. Thousands of Kurdish families fled the Turkish invasion, along with the Kurdish fighters. In their place came hundreds of thousands of Syrians from other areas, who have swollen the population, taking over homes and camping on farming land. Also read| Turkish President Erdogan accuses US of backing 'terrorists' in Iraq Another Turkish intervention in 2019, farther east in Syria, met still more opprobrium amid accusations of human rights violations under Turkey’s watch. But as an end to the decadelong Syrian civil war still confounds the world, Turkey has become the only international force on the ground protecting some five million displaced and vulnerable civilians. Today, the Turkish soldiers are all that stand between them and potential slaughter at the hands of President Bashar Assad’s forces and those of his Russian allies. Turkish officials recently escorted journalists on a rare visit to Afrin, a district of northwestern Syria, where Turkey has created its own de facto safe zone along the border. The Turks were keen to show their achievements in infrastructure, education and health services. Also read: US imposes sanctions on Turkey over Russian S-400 missiles But they also did not hide the continuing plight of the Syrians under their charge, who despite their evident hardship made clear that they were glad the Turks were there, at least for now. “Here, at least I can stay alive,” said Amar Muhammad, 35, a porter in the market in Afrin. A former rebel fighter from Damascus, he said he risked death or detention by the Syrian government. “There, I would be dead. There, I would be thinking all the time, ‘Will they arrest me?’” The Turkish intervention in Afrin was not selfless. Turkey always had its own interests in mind. Its main aim was to root out Kurdish forces it considers a security threat and provide a space for the residual rebel forces fighting against Assad, a loathed rival. The Syrians who settled around Afrin have fled Syrian government forces. Muhammad and his cousin Muhammad Amar were among the rebel fighters evacuated in a convoy of buses from the Damascus suburb of Ghouta and brought to Afrin under a peace deal arranged between Russia and Turkey three years ago. “We were forcibly displaced,” Muhammad said. Refused a chance to join the Turkish-backed security forces, they were demobilized and left to make a living how they could. “I swear to God some people go to sleep hungry. We don’t know how we are surviving.” Turkey has set up its own administration, trained and incorporated friendly Syrian militias into a military police force and set up compliant local Syrian councils to run things. The city has been connected to the Turkish electricity grid, ending years of blackouts; uses Turkish cellphones and currency; and has registered 500 Syrian companies for cross-border trade. “Our main aim is to make their life more normal,” said Orhan Akturk, deputy governor of the adjoining Turkish province of Hatay, who is also responsible for Afrin. “Keep schools open, and hospitals working so people can resume their lives.” But Turkey is also in Syria so that the Syrians do not end up in Turkey. Already the host of the largest Syrian refugee community in the world — 3.6 million Syrians are registered inside Turkey — Erdogan has long called for the establishment of a no-fly zone, or an internationally protected safe zone, in northern Syria. As it stands, his forces have carved it out for themselves. While the U.N. supplies much of the assistance to the Syrians, Turkey has forced out many international aid groups to keep closer control itself. Turkey first intervened in Syria in 2016 in a joint operation with the U.S. Army against the Islamic State group, then in Afrin in 2018, and again in 2019, after then-President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces from the region. Erdogan’s agreement with Trump allowed Russia and the Syrian government to regain a footing in northeastern Syria, which was disastrous for the opposition. But then Ankara took an unexpected stand against a Russian and Syrian government offensive last year in the province of Idlib, showing the Turkish military was not only willing but able to defend the line. Setting a red line in Idlib turned Turkey from a bad actor in the region to a good one, or at least one that shares mutual interests with Washington, said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a Washington-based organization involved in advocacy for Syria. He called for the Biden administration to restart military-to-military communication with Turkey and provide it with logistical and intelligence support to bolster its defense of the part of Idlib that is still in rebel hands. “Northwest Syria and Idlib is key to the whole,” he said. With 4 million people, 1 million of them children, crammed into an ever shrinking space, Idlib represents both a humanitarian and strategic necessity, he said. “Idlib alone, if attacked, would double the refugees in Europe.” The Turks’ control, though welcomed by many Syrians who have fled from Assad’s government, is not uncontested. Turkey’s task in Afrin, in fact, has since been bedeviled by persistent terror attacks — 134 in 2 1/2 years — including four car bombs in the region this month. Security forces have thwarted hundreds more, Akturk said. The Turkish police chief in Afrin said 99% of the attacks were the work of the PKK, the Kurdish separatist movement, and its affiliate in Syria, the YPG, which is allied with U.S. forces in combating the Islamic State. The recent car bombs were concealed in trucks brought in from the Kurdish-controlled area of Manbij by unwitting traders, one of whom lost his own son in an explosion in Afrin’s industrial area, Akturk said. Turkey will raise the issue of U.S. support for the Kurdish militia as a priority with the Biden administration, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said last week. In Afrin the Turks have handled security like any NATO force, surrounding their administration building with high concrete blast walls and sealing off a “green zone” that encompasses the main shopping street in the center of the city. The Syrian shopkeepers complain that business has dwindled as a consequence. “We are surviving, but it is very difficult,” said Ibrahim Haji Khalil, owner of the Five Stars Ice Cream shop. Customers dropped dramatically after a massive fuel truck bomb hit the market last April, he said. “We used to have people in lines up the street but now there is no one.” Said Sulaiman, the leader of the local council, pleaded for more assistance beyond what Turkey can provide. “We need more international support and more nongovernmental organizations to help,” he said. For millions though, Turkey offers the only opportunity. Syrian students are busy learning the Turkish language and seeking ways to get to Turkey to study or work, said Nour Hallak, a Syrian activist living in the Turkish-controlled part of Aleppo province. “It’s something that makes me laugh and cry at the same time,” he said. “Turkish language is spreading, it’s the choice of the people.” For the families in the tented camp above the city, seeking protection from Turkey was their only option. “We are 16 in one tent. Everything is very hard, to find wood, and food,” said Rasmia Hunan al-Abdullah, carrying a toddler in her arms. Her husband is bedridden and blind, she said. “Sometimes the children work and collect plastic.” Families pressed forward asking for help in tracing relatives detained in the vast Syrian government prison system. Almost everyone had a family member detained by the Assad government, the camp organizer said. “If we were not scared, we would not have come here,” said Jarir Sulaiman, one of a group of elders leaning on canes outside their communal tent. Once a wealthy landowner, he said the Syrian government had cut down his olive groves after seizing control of their village, Khiara, south of Damascus. He ruled out returning home while Assad remained in power. “We won’t go back to our villages until Turkey gives us protection,” he said. “Without the Turks we cannot survive.”

In Turkey’s safe zone in Syria, security and misery go hand in hand

At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed as violence escalates in Syria's Idlib province after an airstrike blamed on Damascus, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemning "indiscriminate" attacks by the Assad regime and Russia.

Dozens of more soldiers were injured and taken to Turkey for treatment, Rahmi Dogan, governor of Turkish Hatay -- bordering Syria -- said Friday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/erdogan-rules-out-smallest-step-back-in-syrias-idlib-282938">Erdogan rules out 'smallest step back' in Syria's Idlib</a>

The heavy losses in northwestern Idlib come after weeks of growing tensions between rebel supporter Ankara and Damascus ally Moscow.

Stoltenberg "urged all parties to de-escalate this dangerous situation and avoid further worsening of the horrendous humanitarian situation in the region", his spokesman said Friday.

In a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the NATO secretary-general "condemned the continued indiscriminate airstrikes by the Syrian regime and its backer Russia in Idlib province", according to the spokesman.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/idlib-fighting-turkey-defence-minister-threatens-to-activate-s-400-missiles-against-russia-281961">Idlib fighting: Turkey defence minister threatens to activate S-400 missiles against Russia</a>

Turkey has urged the Syrian regime to withdraw from Turkish observation posts in Idlib, while Moscow has accused Ankara of aiding "terrorists" in Syria.

Under a 2018 deal with Russia meant to bring calm to Idlib, Turkey has 12 observation posts in the region -- but several have come under fire from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hastily convened an emergency meeting in Ankara after the Idlib attack.

Erdogan's top press aide, Fahrettin Altun, said Turkey's military retaliated against all known positions of the regime after the airstrike.

In a statement, Altun called on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to end the violence in Idlib and the regime's "crimes against humanity".

The latest attack means 53 Turkish security personnel have been killed in the province this month.

There was a flurry of diplomatic activity as Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin spoke with US national security advisor, Robert O'Brien, state news agency Anadolu reported without giving detail.

More civilians killed

Jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels on Thursday re-entered Saraqeb, a key Idlib crossroads town they had lost earlier in February, reversing one of the main gains of the government's devastating offensive.

The counteroffensive could, however, be short-lived as Russian-backed Syrian troops continued to chip away at other parts of the rebel bastion, capturing 20 localities.

Seven civilians, including three children, were killed in regime and Russian bombardment of Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding to more than 400 such deaths since December.

The UN Security Council, where Moscow has systematically vetoed truce initiatives, met again Thursday amid growing concern Idlib is witnessing the nine-year-old war's worst humanitarian emergency.

State news agency SANA acknowledged there were "fierce clashes" between the army and "terrorist groups on the Saraqeb front".

An AFP correspondent accompanied the rebels into Saraqeb, where he found a ghost town of bombed outbuildings.

The counterattack temporarily reverses one of the key gains of the government since its offensive against the country's last rebel enclave in December.

Refugee fears

The cash-strapped government had been keen to fully secure the M5, a highway that connects Syria's four main cities and passes through Saraqeb.

The Syrian Observatory said the airstrikes were carried out by Assad government ally Russia, heavily criticised by the West for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign.

State media accused the "terrorists" of launching car bombings and other suicide attacks against government forces attempting to retake the town.

It said the army had inflicted heavy losses on the attackers, despite the military support it said they had received from Turkey.

Some 950,0000 civilians have fled the government offensive, raising fears in Ankara of a new influx of refugees.

Turkey already hosts the world's largest number of Syrian refugees — around 3.6 million people — placing an increasingly unpopular burden on public services.

The country's ruling party spokesman Omer Celik told CNN Turk broadcaster Friday Ankara was not in a position to "hold" refugees any longer and called on the European Union to do more.

More than half a million of those displaced since December are children, tens of thousands of whom are sleeping rough in northern Syria's harsh winter.

UN powerlessness

The Turkish president vowed Wednesday Ankara would not take the "smallest step back" in the standoff with Damascus and Moscow over Idlib.

Erdogan warned the Syrian government to "stop its attacks as soon as possible" and to pull back by the end of the month.

The UN has repeatedly warned the fighting in Idlib could potentially create the most serious humanitarian crisis since the civil war's start in 2011.

Nine out of 15 members of the Security Council on Wednesday urged Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to step up his involvement in efforts to restore peace in Idlib.

Russian vetoes, often backed by China, have chronically crippled UN action in Syria.

At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed as violence escalates in Syria's Idlib province after an airstrike blamed on Damascus, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemning "indiscriminate" attacks by the Assad regime and Russia.

At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed as violence escalates in Syria's Idlib province after an airstrike blamed on Damascus, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemning "indiscriminate" attacks by the Assad regime and Russia. Dozens of more soldiers were injured and taken to Turkey for treatment, Rahmi Dogan, governor of Turkish Hatay -- bordering Syria -- said Friday. Also read: Erdogan rules out 'smallest step back' in Syria's Idlib The heavy losses in northwestern Idlib come after weeks of growing tensions between rebel supporter Ankara and Damascus ally Moscow. Stoltenberg "urged all parties to de-escalate this dangerous situation and avoid further worsening of the horrendous humanitarian situation in the region", his spokesman said Friday. In a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the NATO secretary-general "condemned the continued indiscriminate airstrikes by the Syrian regime and its backer Russia in Idlib province", according to the spokesman. Also read: Idlib fighting: Turkey defence minister threatens to activate S-400 missiles against Russia Turkey has urged the Syrian regime to withdraw from Turkish observation posts in Idlib, while Moscow has accused Ankara of aiding "terrorists" in Syria. Under a 2018 deal with Russia meant to bring calm to Idlib, Turkey has 12 observation posts in the region -- but several have come under fire from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hastily convened an emergency meeting in Ankara after the Idlib attack. Erdogan's top press aide, Fahrettin Altun, said Turkey's military retaliated against all known positions of the regime after the airstrike. In a statement, Altun called on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to end the violence in Idlib and the regime's "crimes against humanity". The latest attack means 53 Turkish security personnel have been killed in the province this month. There was a flurry of diplomatic activity as Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin spoke with US national security advisor, Robert O'Brien, state news agency Anadolu reported without giving detail. More civilians killed Jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels on Thursday re-entered Saraqeb, a key Idlib crossroads town they had lost earlier in February, reversing one of the main gains of the government's devastating offensive. The counteroffensive could, however, be short-lived as Russian-backed Syrian troops continued to chip away at other parts of the rebel bastion, capturing 20 localities. Seven civilians, including three children, were killed in regime and Russian bombardment of Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding to more than 400 such deaths since December. The UN Security Council, where Moscow has systematically vetoed truce initiatives, met again Thursday amid growing concern Idlib is witnessing the nine-year-old war's worst humanitarian emergency. State news agency SANA acknowledged there were "fierce clashes" between the army and "terrorist groups on the Saraqeb front". An AFP correspondent accompanied the rebels into Saraqeb, where he found a ghost town of bombed outbuildings. The counterattack temporarily reverses one of the key gains of the government since its offensive against the country's last rebel enclave in December. Refugee fears The cash-strapped government had been keen to fully secure the M5, a highway that connects Syria's four main cities and passes through Saraqeb. The Syrian Observatory said the airstrikes were carried out by Assad government ally Russia, heavily criticised by the West for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign. State media accused the "terrorists" of launching car bombings and other suicide attacks against government forces attempting to retake the town. It said the army had inflicted heavy losses on the attackers, despite the military support it said they had received from Turkey. Some 950,0000 civilians have fled the government offensive, raising fears in Ankara of a new influx of refugees. Turkey already hosts the world's largest number of Syrian refugees — around 3.6 million people — placing an increasingly unpopular burden on public services. The country's ruling party spokesman Omer Celik told CNN Turk broadcaster Friday Ankara was not in a position to "hold" refugees any longer and called on the European Union to do more. More than half a million of those displaced since December are children, tens of thousands of whom are sleeping rough in northern Syria's harsh winter. UN powerlessness The Turkish president vowed Wednesday Ankara would not take the "smallest step back" in the standoff with Damascus and Moscow over Idlib. Erdogan warned the Syrian government to "stop its attacks as soon as possible" and to pull back by the end of the month. The UN has repeatedly warned the fighting in Idlib could potentially create the most serious humanitarian crisis since the civil war's start in 2011. Nine out of 15 members of the Security Council on Wednesday urged Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to step up his involvement in efforts to restore peace in Idlib. Russian vetoes, often backed by China, have chronically crippled UN action in Syria.

33 Turkish soldiers killed in airstrike by Syrian regime forces in Idlib

Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in an airstrike in&nbsp;Syria's northwestern province of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/idlib-fighting-turkey-defence-minister-threatens-to-activate-s-400-missiles-against-russia-281961">Idlib</a>, the defence ministry said on Thursday.&nbsp;

Turkey, which supports several rebel groups in the area, immediately responded to the attack by hitting Syrian "regime targets", the ministry said on Twitter.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/erdogan-rules-out-smallest-step-back-in-syrias-idlib-282938">Erdogan rules out 'smallest step back' in Syria's Idlib</a>

The latest casualties have brought the number of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/erdogan-rules-out-smallest-step-back-in-syrias-idlib-282938">Turkish security</a> personnel killed in regime fire in Idlib this month to 19. &nbsp;

Damascus backed by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/idlib-fighting-turkey-defence-minister-threatens-to-activate-s-400-missiles-against-russia-281961">Russian airstrikes </a>has pressed an offensive to take back the last rebel bastion of Idlib.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/idlib-fighting-turkey-defence-minister-threatens-to-activate-s-400-missiles-against-russia-281961">Idlib fighting: Turkey defence minister threatens to activate S-400 missiles against Russia</a>

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes since December in the largest displacement since the civil war in&nbsp;Syria&nbsp;broke out almost nine years ago.

The attacks on Turkish forces have caused strains between the regime's key ally <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/idlib-fighting-turkey-defence-minister-threatens-to-activate-s-400-missiles-against-russia-281961">Russia</a> and Turkey.

Ankara urged the regime to pull back by the end of February from behind its military posts in Idlib.&nbsp;

Russian diplomats and military officials were due to hold the second round of negotiations with their Turkish counterparts on Thursday.&nbsp;

Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in an airstrike in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, the defence ministry said on Thursday. Turkey, which supports several rebel groups in the area, immediately responded to the attack by hitting Syrian "regime targets", the ministry said on Twitter.

Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in an airstrike in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, the defence ministry said on Thursday. Turkey, which supports several rebel groups in the area, immediately responded to the attack by hitting Syrian "regime targets", the ministry said on Twitter. Also read: Erdogan rules out 'smallest step back' in Syria's Idlib The latest casualties have brought the number of Turkish security personnel killed in regime fire in Idlib this month to 19. Damascus backed by Russian airstrikes has pressed an offensive to take back the last rebel bastion of Idlib. Also read: Idlib fighting: Turkey defence minister threatens to activate S-400 missiles against Russia Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes since December in the largest displacement since the civil war in Syria broke out almost nine years ago. The attacks on Turkish forces have caused strains between the regime's key ally Russia and Turkey. Ankara urged the regime to pull back by the end of February from behind its military posts in Idlib. Russian diplomats and military officials were due to hold the second round of negotiations with their Turkish counterparts on Thursday.

Two Turkish troops killed in Syria's Idlib: Defence ministry

US House of Representatives on Wednesday recognised the 'Armenian genocide' even as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-says-kurdish-ypg-still-in-syria-border-area-as-deadline-looms-258685">Turkey rejected</a> the official recognition.

"As a meaningless political step, its sole addressees are the Armenian lobby and anti-Turkey groups," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement.&nbsp;

"We believe that American friends of Turkey who support the continuation of the alliance and friendly relations will question this grave mistake and those who are responsible will be judged by the conscience of the American people," it added.

The House voted 405-11 in favour of the resolution. The vote recognised the "genocide" killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amnesty-international-says-turkey-deporting-syrians-to-planned-safe-zone-region-258214">Referring to the Kurds</a>, Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff said: "When we see the images of terrified Kurdish families in northern Syria, loading their possessions into cars or carts and fleeing their homes headed to nowhere except away from Turkish bombs and marauding militias, how can we say the crimes of a century ago are in the past?"

"We cannot. We cannot pick and choose which crimes against humanity are convenient to speak about. We cannot cloak our support for human rights in euphemisms. We cannot be cowed into silence by a foreign power," Schiff asserted.

The US lawmakers also urged President Trump to impose sanctions against Turkey over its offensive in northern Syria.

Turkey, however, was quick to denounce the move declaring&nbsp;it "devoid of any historical or legal basis", while adding that it was "incompatible with the spirit of our NATO alliance."

"We urge the US Congress, not to exploit bilateral issues for domestic political consumption and to act in line with the spirit of our Alliance and partnership," the ministry said. 
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US House of Representatives on Wednesday recognised the 'Armenian genocide' even as Turkey rejected the official recognition. "As a meaningless political step, its sole addressees are the Armenian lobby and anti-Turkey groups," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement.

US House of Representatives on Wednesday recognised the 'Armenian genocide' even as Turkey rejected the official recognition. "As a meaningless political step, its sole addressees are the Armenian lobby and anti-Turkey groups," Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement. "We believe that American friends of Turkey who support the continuation of the alliance and friendly relations will question this grave mistake and those who are responsible will be judged by the conscience of the American people," it added. The House voted 405-11 in favour of the resolution. The vote recognised the "genocide" killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. Referring to the Kurds, Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff said: "When we see the images of terrified Kurdish families in northern Syria, loading their possessions into cars or carts and fleeing their homes headed to nowhere except away from Turkish bombs and marauding militias, how can we say the crimes of a century ago are in the past?" "We cannot. We cannot pick and choose which crimes against humanity are convenient to speak about. We cannot cloak our support for human rights in euphemisms. We cannot be cowed into silence by a foreign power," Schiff asserted. The US lawmakers also urged President Trump to impose sanctions against Turkey over its offensive in northern Syria. Turkey, however, was quick to denounce the move declaring it "devoid of any historical or legal basis", while adding that it was "incompatible with the spirit of our NATO alliance." "We urge the US Congress, not to exploit bilateral issues for domestic political consumption and to act in line with the spirit of our Alliance and partnership," the ministry said.

US House recognises Armenian genocide; Turkey calls it 'meaningless'

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked Kurdish militia in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with airstrikes and artillery before starting a cross-border ground operation that could transform an eight-year-old war.

Daniele Pagani, Bureau Chief, West Asia on Turkey-Syria conflict

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies attacked Kurdish militia in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with airstrikes and artillery before starting a cross-border ground operation that could transform an eight-year-old war. Know about the latest updates from Daniele Pagani, Bureau Chief, West Asia

Daniele Pagani, Bureau Chief, West Asia speaks on Turkey-Syria conflict