Turkey encroaches further on neighboring Syria, sends heavy equipment to military base near Holeb (Aleppo)

HOLEB (ALEPPO), Syria — Turkey is further encroaching on neighboring Syria after the fall of the Syrian Ba’ath regime and the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa as head of the Syrian Transitional Government (STG). It already had military presence of its own in Idlib and in northern Syria or through its proxy mercenary army the Syrian National Army.

The Turkish Army has now started transferring heavy and technical military equipment to the Meng (Menagh) military airport in the Azaz, north of Holeb (Aleppo), Syria. The military airport has been transformed into a joint airbase between Syria and Turkey. The equipment includes air defense systems, surveillance radars and other military hardware. The activation of the base is, reportedly, to secure air protection for Syrian territory as the STG has almost no air force of itself after Israel destroyed most of its military air capabilities. 

Also read: Turkish escalation attack on Tel Tamr, North and East Syria

Operating the Menagh airbase paves the way for further Turkish-STG military cooperation and the establishment of more Turkish bases in Syria. This comes ahead of the signing of a joint defense agreement between the two sides, the terms of which are currently being negotiated.  

Citing military sources, the Hürriyet newspaper recently stated that Turkey-STG military and defense agreements are to be signed, with aim of enhancing security cooperation between the two sides. Hürriyet added that a military delegation from the Turkish Ministry of Defense will arrive in Daramsuq (Damascus) this month to discuss ways to enhance the capabilities of the Syrian Army under the STG Defense Ministry, particularly in the fields of defense and security.

Also read: Outcry over Turkish airstrike that killed nine members of same family in North and East Syria