Idlib

All countries should work together in the fight against xenophobia and Islamophobia, Turkish deputy foreign minister said on Feb. 26, referring to a recent racist terror attack in Germany. 

Faruk Kaymakçı spoke during the high-level section of the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the U.N. in Geneva.

Salwa, a 3-year-old Syrian girl who became famous for heaving with laughter despite bombings by the Syrian regime in the war-torn country's northwestern province of Idlib, was brought to Turkey on Feb. 25 to give her a safer childhood.

Salwa, who was taught by her father to laugh at the sound of bombs, recently arrived in Turkey with her family to begin a new life.

Shelling and airstrikes by Syrian regime forces killed at least three people on Feb. 26 in northwestern Syria, where dozens of villages, including major rebel strongholds in the last opposition-held area, have been captured over the past few days.

Syrian regime forces recaptured the symbolic town of Kafranbel in Idlib province, one of the first cities to rebel against the Damascus regime, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Feb. 25 the Syrian regime will not be able to achieve a military victory and the recent offensive in Idlib only heightens the risks of conflict with Turkey.

Five civilians died on Feb. 24 in Russian air strikes backing Syrian regime forces as they chip away at the country's last major rebel bastion, a war monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deadly raids hit the area of Jabal al-Zawiya in the south of Idlib province.

Turkey's defense chief and his British counterpart spoke by phone late on Feb. 24 about Syria's embattled northwestern province of Idlib. 

Hulusi Akar and Ben Wallace also discussed other defense and security issues, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 21 emphasized the necessity to control the Syrian regime forces and halt a humanitarian crisis in northwestern Syria, during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, according to Turkey's communications directorate.

According to "Russia Today", the Turkish-funded militants have been targeting Syrian army positions.
The Russian ministry adds that Turkish forces ceased the attack after Moscow made contact with Ankara.
Turkey should suspend support for "terrorist groups" in Syria's Idlib province, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

Turkey's Defense Ministry announced on Feb. 20 that two Turkish soldiers were killed and five more were wounded in an air strike in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.