Israel attacks Syrian forces shortly after Turkey's Erdogan calls for end to 'aggression'
Israeli warplanes have targeted Syrian military positions in the town of Ghadir al-Bustan on the border between the Daraa and Quneitra governorates.
At least one person was killed in the strike on Wednesday and another was wounded, according to local Syrian news outlet Daraa 24.
Israel has continued targeting Syrian positions despite the collapse of the Assad dynasty in December, and targets have expanded to include forces loyal to the new administration.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded in a speech that Israel stop its “aggressive actions” against Syria, where a new government is now in charge following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
“Starting with Israel, the forces attacking Syrian territories must immediately put an end to their aggressive actions. Otherwise, the consequences will have a negative impact on everyone,” Erdogan said at the group meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara.
Ever since the fall of the former Syrian president on 8 December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrian military positions across the country and launched a ground invasion, capturing the entirety of the buffer zone with the occupied Golan Heights and lands beyond it.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de-facto leader, said that Israel had no justifications for its actions in Syria, but that his country was not able to be drawn into a new conflict.
“The Israelis have clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region,” Sharaa, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, said in December.
Read More »Erdogan, who has pledged to support post-Assad Syria in reconstruction, also expressed his commitment to defeating the Islamic State group as well as Kurdish-led groups antagonistic to Ankara.
“Everyone should withdraw from the region. Together with our Syrian brothers, we will crush the heads of ISIS, the YPG, and other terrorist organizations in a short time,” he said.
The Turkish president believes the YPG, the Kurdish-led group Turkey considers a terrorist organisation, is the “most serious problem” in Syria, as it, along with its allies, still controls roughly a third of Syrian territory.
“I have instructed our relevant colleagues to carry out efforts to dissolve the separatist organisation with great care and in a comprehensive manner,” he said.
