Turkish defense minister arrives at Syrian border

NEW HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE, UPDATED WITH AKAR ARRIVES AT SYRIAN BORDER, REVISED THROUGHOUT

By Mumin Altas and Sarp Ozer

HATAY (AA) - Turkey's defense minister arrived at the Syrian border on Monday in the wake of a deadly Assad regime attack on Turkish troops in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

Hulusi Akar bowed out of accompanying the president on a scheduled official visit to Ukraine due to the shelling assault, which left six Turkish army personnel martyred and at least seven wounded.

The deadly attack came at a sensitive time for Idlib, an area supposedly under a cease-fire which hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled due to relentless attacks by the Assad regime and its allies.

Akar met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler, Army Forces Commander Gen. Umit Dundar and Air Force Commander Gen. Hasan Kucukakyuz near the border to discuss Turkish operations there and the security situation.

Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire – including a fresh cease-fire on Jan. 12 – launching frequent attacks inside the zone, killing at least 1,300 civilians since the agreement.

More than 1 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year, including tens of thousands last month alone.

Turkey remains the country with most refugees in the world, hosting more than 3.7 million migrants since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.