ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Damascus closed its airspace over Syria’s northwest province of Idlib after two regime jets and a Turkish drone were shot down on Sunday, according to the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria.
Violence has escalated in recent days between the Russian-backed regime forces of Bashar al-Assad and opposition-supporter Turkey.
Turkish forces shot down two Syrian Su-24s and destroyed an air defense system after one of its drones was downed over Idlib province, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Sunday.
Syria’s official state news agency SANA said the four pilots ejected and landed safely.
Oleg Zhuravlev, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said the regime had been forced to close its airspace over Idlib as a result and that the safety of Turkish jets over Syria could not be guaranteed.
“In view of the sharp exacerbation of tensions in the airspace over Idlib” the Syrian regime was “forced to declare it closed,” Zhuravlev said in a statement late Sunday.
“In such conditions, the command of the Russian taskforce cannot guarantee safety of flights by Turkish planes over Syria,” the statement warned.
Syrian activists say Turkish drone attacks have caused serious damage to Syrian regime forces in recent days.
Zhuravlev denied unconfirmed reports that a Russian jet was downed in Idlib.
“Reports citing internet resources that a Su-24 plane of the Russian aerospace forces had been hit from a man-portable air defense system in the airspace over the Idlib de-escalation zone are not true,” he said.
Hulusi Akar, Turkey’s defense minister, insists Ankara’s new offensive is aimed solely at regime forces and not at Russian personnel.
Speaking at the Turkish military headquarters close to the Syrian border on Sunday, Akar called on Russia to push the Syrian regime to shed its territorial gains in Idlib and withdraw to the 2018 ceasefire lines.
Turkey had “neutralized” more than 2,200 Syrian troops, 103 tanks, and eight helicopters, he said.
“The Spring Shield operation, which was launched following the abominable attack in Idlib on February 27, continues successfully,” Akar said, referring to regime air strikes which killed 33 Turkish soldiers.
Operation Spring Shield is Turkey’s fourth operation in Syria since beginning its direct engagement in the conflict in 2016.
Bordering the southern flank of Turkey, Idlib is the last holdout of the anti-regime opposition in Syria. Damascus launched an offensive to retake the territory in December 2019, causing one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the entire conflict.
