Azerbaijan Offers Condolences Over Idlib Attack

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry on Friday offered condolences to Turkey after a Syrian regime attack in Idlib martyred dozens of Turkish soldiers.

"We are deeply saddened by the news that Turkish soldiers were martyred in Idlib. We wish Allah's mercy on the martyrs, extend our condolences to their families and the Turkish nation," the Foreign Ministry said in a tweet.

At least 33 Turkish soldiers were martyred and tens of others injured late on Thursday in an airstrike by the Bashar al-Assad regime forces in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

But more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces in the zone since then as the cease-fire continues to be violated.

In recent weeks, attacks by the regime and its allies have also targeted Turkish soldiers on a peace mission in Idlib.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

More than 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks.

Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in some 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making it the world's top refugee hosting country. -