Idlib motorway site of clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces

The Russian-backed Syrian army on Tuesday battled the Turkish army and allied jihadi and rebel fighters for control of a strategic motorway in Idlib province.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian army, supported by Russian warplanes, fought Turkish forces over the village of Neirab near the M5 north-south motorway while the Turkish army shelled the Syrian army as it captured 15 villages in southwest Idlib.

Undeterred by Turkey’s direct involvement, Russian jets have provided air cover for the Syrian army’s campaign to regain the whole of Idlib, the last bastion of jihadi and anti-government forces.

As the struggle for Idlib has intensified, drawing Russian air strikes on Turkish ground troops, killing at least 17, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Ergodan said a March 5th summit involving the leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany has not yet been agreed, although he may meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on this date.

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Erdogan’s threats

While Erdogan has threatened to launch a full-scale military campaign at the end of the month to force the Syrian army to retreat from recaptured territory in Idlib and adjacent provinces, he appears to prefer jaw-jaw to war-war.

Russia is determined to protect Syrian government gains but could be prepared to allow Turkey to create a limited "safe zone" in northwest Syria to settle Syrian civilians displaced by the fighting. Having hosted 3.6 million Syrians during the conflict, Turkey refuses to accept the 900,000 recently displaced who have camped near its border with Idlib.

The spike in fighting follows the Syrian government's reopening of Aleppo's civilian airport and the M5 Damascus-Aleppo motorway. These developments are major strategic gains for Syria's military and Russia and have boosted the morale of Syrians living in the government-held 70 per cent of the country.

Devastation and deprivation

They are suffering from devastation, deprivation, sanctions, collapse of the currency, rising prices, and shortages of fuel and cooking gas. The reopening of the M5 should give some relief by reducing the cost of transporting goods. Before the war, lorries plying the M5 carried cargo valued at $25 million a day, including cotton, grain, pharmaceuticals and vegetables.

Ankara has not only used the M5 to both funnel arms and jihadis into Syria and reinforce troops deployed to 12 fortified bases in Idlib. Turkey aims to disrupt traffic on the M5 as well as to prevent the Syrian army from retaking the other main motorway that passes through Idlib, the east-west M4.

Control of the M4 is essential for providing goods and fuel for the population as well as reconstruction materials for Syria’s recovery. The M4 links the industrial hub of Aleppo to Latakia’s Mediterranean port where raw materials are brought into the country and exports are shipped abroad.