SYRIA: Turkey continues to target Christian villages of Tel Tamr; military buildup on both sides of Idlib de-escalation zone

TEL TAMR and IDLIB, Syria – Overnight, Turkish and Syrian National Army (SNA) forces targeted the Christian villages of Timar (Umm al-Keif), Ainak al-Hawa, and Al-Arisha, in the Tel Tamr countryside, with artillery. No information about human casualties was available.

Positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the villages of Hoshan and Kur Hassan near the M4 highway, west of Tel Abyad, were also targeted.

During the day on Monday, in Idlib Governorate in Syria’s northwest, a Turkish military convoy was seen crossing the border heading towards the de-escalation zone established by the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement. The convoy consisted of 45 trucks carrying logistics equipment, concrete blocks, and armored vehicles.

A buildup of forces on either side of the Idlib frontlines has been occurring since the ceasefire agreed to by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at their 5 March meeting in Moscow. Recent reports have noted a buildup of Syrian armor and Russian artillery south of the de-escalation zone.