Turkey Setting Up Military Base in Northern Syria

Turkey Setting Up Military Base in Northern Syria –

Southfront – According to the As Safir newspaper, a military base, equipped with an airfield, is currently being built by Turkish troops in the area of Ziyar, to the south of the near-border locality of al-Rai.

Turkey boosts conducting of the so-called Euphrates Shield anti-terrorist operation to the north of Aleppo “in order to consolidate the occupation of the Syrian territory,” the Lebanese As Safir newspaper reports. According to the newspaper, Ankara “plans to repeat in Syria the scenario, which had been carried out in Iraq, where Turkey managed to set up a ‘military camp’ in the town of Bashiqa.”

According to the article, Turkish engineer units are currently engaged in building of a military base, equipped with an airfield, in the area of Ziyar, to the south of the near-border locality of al-Rai. Reportedly, Turkish military allegedly plans to deploy there a “training camp for militants, who will join to the Syrian armed opposition formations, participating in the Euphrates Shield operation.”

As As Safir reports, Turkish military base in Bashiqa in Iraq is used not only for military intervention. “Now Ankara openly talks about Turkey’s historical claims on Mosul and Kirkuk,” the newspaper notes. “And in the north of Syria, despite protests of the legitimate authorities of Damascus, [Turkish] President Tayyip Erdogan designates red lines and announces his intentions to liberate al-Bab and Manbij [cities] from terrorists that will become the next targets of the Euphrates Shield operation.”

In this connection, As Safir warns that “today it is not about some ‘Ottoman dreams’, but about practical steps on redrawing the regional map.”

“Ankara says about its claims on Aleppo and Raqqa within the framework of the national defense strategy, and media, close to the leadership of the country, openly write about this” the newspaper stresses.

According to the piece, “Turkish military are behind the recent attempt of armed groups to break through the defensive units of Syrian troops in the west of Aleppo.” Sources, close to the Syrian opposition, confirmed to the newspaper that Turkish military is preparing a new assault on Aleppo, using ‘moderate’ armed groups.