Ankara, Dec 11 (IANS) Turkey will not allow Syria to become a conflict zone and be divided once again, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“Any attack on the stability of the new Syrian government or the integrity of ancient Syrian lands will face both the Syrian people and us,” Erdogan said at a ruling party meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We cannot accept any steps or provocations aimed at preventing the return of our Syrian brothers and sisters to their homes,” he noted.
Syrian militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), waged a major offensive from northern Syria since November 27, and have since swept southwards through government-held areas, capturing the capital Damascus within 12 days.
Following the offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government collapsed on Sunday. Al-Assad has resigned and arrived in Russia for asylum.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mohammed al-Bashir, an electrical engineer and head of the “Syrian Salvation Government” in Idlib formed in 2017 by the HTS and other Syrian militant groups during the Syrian civil war, announced that he has been tasked with heading a transitional government in Syria until early March 2025.
–IANS
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