The fronts in Aleppo and Idlib, located within the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, known as the "Putin-Erdogan" area, have witnessed severe tension and mutual targeting between the Syrian army and Turkish forces, along with the National Army factions loyal to them. This comes amid rising talks about Russia's efforts to restore normal relations between Ankara and Damascus.
In the context of efforts to restore relations and hold a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the developments in the Syrian file and efforts for restoring relations with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. This meeting took place on Friday during the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership meeting between Turkey and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, Laos, according to sources from the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
In retaliation, Syrian forces targeted two Turkish military observation posts in the village of Salahiyah and the town of Sarmien in Idlib with attacks involving 10 drones, damaging several civilian vehicles and agricultural equipment. The Turkish armed forces shot down one of the drones after targeting it with machine guns.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Syrian forces shelled Sarmien town and the forest around the village of Benin, as well as bombarding the areas surrounding the towns of Majariz, Maaret al-Numan, and Afes in eastern Idlib with mortar fire.
Prior to this, a Turkish military patrol was directly targeted by artillery shells and bursts from heavy machine guns originating from areas controlled by Syrian forces, Russian forces, and Iranian factions while moving between the towns of Nayrab and Sarmien. This occurred despite a meeting held by Turkish and Russian military officials a week ago in Saraqib, east of Idlib, where several topics were discussed, including opening internal roads and crossings between Syrian army-controlled areas and those of the armed opposition factions, under Turkish-Russian sponsorship, based on previous agreements between Moscow and Ankara.
The meeting also addressed preventing the escalation of clashes and targeting in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Additionally, a Turkish defense ministry official announced discussions with Russia regarding the resumption of joint patrols on both sides of the M4 international highway between Aleppo and Latakia, aiming to reopen it under the terms of the ceasefire agreement in Idlib signed between Turkish and Russian sides in Moscow on March 5, 2020, which resulted in Turkey halting Operation Spring Shield following the killing of over 30 of its soldiers in a Syrian army attack in Idlib.
Simultaneously, Turkish artillery shelled the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian army in the villages of Tal Rahal, Kharbat Sha'ala, and Deir Qaq in northern Aleppo countryside. The Turkish base in the Azaz countryside, north of Aleppo, shelled SDF positions in the village of Mar'anaz and the area around the Menagh Military Airport.
This was accompanied by medium-level clashes between the National Army factions and the SDF at the axis of Mar'anaz and Kafr Khashir near the city of Azaz. At the same time, violent clashes renewed between National Army factions and SDF forces just after midnight Thursday-Friday on the axes of Tal Malad, Harbal, Mar'a, and Mar'anaz in northern Aleppo, coinciding with mutual artillery shelling.
