At least 29 Turkish soldiers have been killed in an airstrike in Syria.

Turkish soldiers and armor in Syria. BBC/AFP.

At least 29 Turkish soldiers have been killed in an airstrike in Syria, in a major escalation. BBC. Other sources say at least 34 Turks were killed in the airstrike, which was launched by the regime. The Turks say they will be retaliating against all available Syrian targets. The skirmishes are in violation of a 2018 cease fire which was brokered by Russia. Both sides blame the other for violating the government. The Syrian regime is trying to take back the last province, Idlib, that is still under control of rebels (and terror groups like al-Nusra). The strikes and the Turkish reaction to it is growing fears of a possible war or conflict between Turkey and Russia. 

My Comment:

The article wasn't clear if this attack was launched by the Russians or the Syrian regime. My guess is that it was the Syrians as they have wanted to take back this area for a long time and they are furious that the Turks are trying to prevent that. 

I would say that it's a pretty major escalation by both sides. So far the regime and the Turks have avoided attacking each other directly but now they are targeting each other openly. It's very possible that they could get into a shooting war.

This is, of course, bad for everyone involved. The Turks are already overextended in the Syrian adventure, plus they have launched another military operation in Libya which will make them even less able to respond. Plus, the worst case scenario is that they could get into a fight with Russia. Not only would they lose that war, they could not expect any help from their NATO allies as it's very clear that they provoked any war that happens. As far as NATO is concerned any war that results from their invasion of Syria is on them.

For Syria, they have to deal with yet another front on their war. After almost 9 years of war they could be losing their best chance to finally end the war and defeat the rebels once and for all. They are sick and tired of the war and want it to end but the Turks are in their way. 

For the Russians they probably don't want a war with Turkey either. They have tired to broker a cease fire but both the Turks and Syrians have little reason to listen to them. The Turks want their buffer zone and to destroy the Kurds and the Syrians want their borders back. Russia might be drawn into a war they don't want.

The rest of the world doesn't need any of this. There are more refugees to deal with and yet another crisis in a world that is having some serious problems (see yesterday's posts about Coronavirus and the locust plague). A major war between Turkey and Syria or even Turkey and Russia will just make all the world's problems worse. 

However, it's always possible that cooler heads will prevail. None of the sides gain from conflict other than the rebels themselves, who are getting a last second reprieve. It's very possible that Russia will be able to pressure both the Syrians and Turks to back off. Let us all hope that they are able to do so.