ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Friday extended condolences to Turkey over loss oflives of the Turkish troops in an airstrike by the Bashar al-Assad regimeforces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on Thursday.
“Pakistan acknowledges and expresses support for Turkey’s legitimatesecurity and humanitarian concerns in the region, and calls on all regionaland international actors to help effectively address and resolve thesituation,” said a statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
The statement said the recent developments are not only a grave threat toregional peace and security but will also exacerbate the deterioratinghumanitarian situation in the region.
“Pakistan once again urges the international community to play its roletowards finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict, as well asaddressing the prevailing humanitarian crisis,” it went on to say.
Late Thursday, at least 33 Turkish soldiers were martyred and dozens ofothers injured in an airstrike by Assad regime forces in the Idlib, Syriade-escalation zone, just across Turkey’s southern border.d
The Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under aSeptember 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression areprohibited in the region.
But more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by Assad andRussian forces in the zone since then, as the cease-fire continues to beviolated.
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Thursday’s attack was one of a series since January on Turkish troops, withTurkish officials keeping their pledge that such assaults would not gounanswered.
The de-escalation zone is currently home to 4 million civilians, includinghundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughoutthe war-torn country.
More than 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due tointense attacks.
Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey hastaken in some 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making it theworld’s top refugee hosting country. – Anadolu Agency
