Turkey's military will strike the Assad regime forces by air or ground anywhere in Syria if another Turkish soldier is hurt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.
"If there is the smallest injury to our soldiers on the observation posts or other places, I am declaring from here that we will hit the regime forces everywhere from today, regardless of Idlib's borders or the lines of the Sochi agreement," Erdoğan said, referring to a 2018 ceasefire accord.
"We will do this by any means necessary, by air or ground, without hesitating, without allowing for any stalling," he told members of his AK Party in Ankara. Russia, which has an air base in Syria, has controlled Idlib's air space for several years.
Turkey is determined to push back Syrian regime forces from Turkey's observation posts in Idlib by the end of February, said Erdoğan. The observation posts were established in 2018 under the Astana peace process.
To push back the Syrian forces, Turkey "will do what is necessary via land and air without hesitation," added Erdoğan.
The Syrian people's fight for freedom is also Turkey's fight, he said.
Erdoğan's remarks came after five Turkish troops were martyred and five injured in an attack by Assad regime forces in Idlib, northwestern Syria on Monday, following a similar attack last week martyring seven soldiers and a civilian contractor working with the Turkish military.
The Turkish troops are in Idlib -- nominally a cease-fire zone, under a deal between Turkey and Russia -- as part of an anti-terror and peace mission.
Turkey has since retaliated for both attacks, hitting scores of targets and killing some 200 Assad regime troops.
Erdoğan drew the attention of the international community to Syria, saying: "Nobody is safe where the blood of Turkish soldiers is shed. [...] Turkey will use its full force."
"At this point, we will not shut our eyes to excess, radicalism, treason and provocation of someone [in Syria]," he said.
Erdoğan said Turkey-backed rebels have mobilized to push the regime forces out of Idlib, but added they must remain disciplined.
"We have given the message that we will act without compromise to those from the opposition groups who act in an undisciplined way and give the regime an excuse to attack," he said.
In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
But more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces since then, flouting both the 2018 cease-fire and a new one that started on Jan. 12.
