Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed that Turkey will not withdraw from its 12 observation posts in Idlib's de-escalation zone, northwestern Syria.
His comments came during a visit together with top army commanders to the southern province of Hatay on the Syrian border to inspect Turkish troops on Saturday.
" We will never evacuate our 12 observation points. We will heroically carry out our mission of ensuring the ceasefire stays in place. We are not going to leave," he said.
Moreover, he noted that Turkish troops at these observation points have been ordered to respond without hesitation if they are attacked or harassed.
Akar's visit to soldiers on the border region comes as Turkey is also considering to send troops to support Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli against strongman Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).
It is worth mentioning that, in September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Since then, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by regime forces in the de-escalation zone as the ceasefire continues to be violated.
About a million Syrians moved to areas near the Turkish border, due to intense attacks on Idlib.
Idlib province is already sheltering around 3 million civilians, 75 % of which are women and children.
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