Turkey’s Proxy Wars Intertwine
This week’s news shows that Turkey’s proxy wars are becoming increasingly intertwined. Tensions between Russia and Turkey have been steadily rising as they operate on opposite sides of proxy wars in Libya, Syria, and the Caucuses.
Russia’s air raid on rebel fighters in Syria killed between 35 to 78 Faylaq al-Sham fighters at a military training base in the Idlib region of northwestern Syria. The group is one of the largest Turkey-backed rebel groups in the area. Last week, Turkey withdrew from an outpost in the region which had been encircled by Russia-backed Syrian government forces for the past year.
Commentators such as Charles Lister, director of the US-based Middle East Institute, believe that the attack on Monday was targeted as a “direct hit against – and message to – Turkey.” Turkey and Russia had worked together in March to broker a truce in the Idlib province, showing rare desire to work together. This attack is likely to increase tensions between the two countries and within their other proxy conflicts. The maps above show the different areas of control and observations posts around Idlib.
Sources
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/27/russian-strike-in-syrias-idlib-a-message-to-ankara
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-idlib-turkey-observation-posts-abandon