The Foreign Office has condemned the killing of dozens of Turkish soldiers in a Syrian airstrike in the worn-torn country’s Idlib province, giving no regard to the poor, helpless Syrians caught in the deadly crossfire of two unassuming rivals. The foreign office, while expressing condolences to its Turkish friends, should also have reminded it of its unwanted presence in Idlib, where the Syrian army is trying to drive out the jihadist factions from their last stronghold. Turkey lost 33 of its military personnel in the attack on Thursday night, and more than 30 others were injured. Turkish troops are facing unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Russian-backed Syrian army and air force. Earlier this month, a Turkish convoy, reinforcements to the rebel groups, came under heavy shelling from the Syrian side. Fight for Idlib’s control between the rebels and the Syrian army has been on for the last three months. The situation escalated only after the dramatic entrance of Turkish troops. Russia, which has stood by Syria, has reminded Turkey that its troops should not have been in Idlib. Moscow has again resorted to military buildup in Syria.
The cost of the Idlib conflict is heavy in terms of human losses and displacement as a million civilians have already left the area since December. This makes for the worst displacement in the country’s nine-year war. Turkey wants to avert the wave of displacement for it is at the immediate suffering end in the wake of the migration. It also invoked the Nato platform seeking its active military and political aid but got nothing except words. In fact, the international community does not want to be part of the Syrian war anymore. But Turkey has threatened opening land and sea routes to Europe for refugees. If Turkey lets refugees go out of the country, millions of Syrians may entre Europe. Side by side, the US has seen an opportunity in the fresh airstrikes, which are believed to be carried out by Russian planes, to create a wedge between Turkey and Russia. A defence deal between the two countries is what Washington wants to get scrapped. International politics is heartless, indifferent to the suffering of ordinary people. The Syrian army should stop harsh attacks on Idlib, averting a humanitarian catastrophe. Similarly, Turkey should stop backing rebels and avoid a proxy war in Syria. Pakistan has seen a wave of deaths and destruction as a byproduct of its proxy wars in the past. It is time Turkey learned lessons from Pakistan. *