On 10 September, the Turkish army deployed reinforcements in north-western Syria, in the Idlib region, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The London-based monitoring group reported that 20 Turkish military vehicles carrying logistical supplies and military equipment entered the area through the Kafr Luzhin border crossing and headed towards the southern countryside of Idlib.
"The convoy headed towards al-Bara and Kansafra directions in the southern countryside of Idlib to reinforce the [Turkish] positions there," the group's report said.
The Turkish army has maintained dozens of positions throughout the wider Idlib region since 2020 to supposedly monitor the ceasefire brokered by Russia.
The deployment of reinforcements in Greater Idlib came after an intense round of clashes between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de facto ruler of the region.
On 26 August, a tunnel bombing targeted an SAA position near the town of Milaya in the southern province of Idlib. About 11 soldiers were killed in the attack and in a subsequent raid. Later, on September 1, at least 16 soldiers were killed in a raid targeting an army position near the town of al-Sharaf in the northern province of Latakia, the province with the largest concentration of Russian military forces.
The SAA and Russian aerospace forces responded to these violations with a series of strikes. The Syrian Ministry of Defense said on September 9 that a total of 111 fighters were killed and more than 80 others were wounded.
Turkey does not reinforce the ceasefire or interfere in the activities of the HTS and its allies. The real purpose of its military presence in the wider Idlib region is to prevent the SAA and its allies from continuing ground operations in the area.
For about a year now, Turkey and Syria have been in talks to restore relations. The normalization process slowed down after Ankara refused to meet Damascus' demands for Turkey's complete withdrawal from Syrian territory.
By deploying additional reinforcements in the wider Idlib region, Turkey is effectively sending a signal that a normalization agreement with Syria may not yet be possible, as its actions are particularly aimed at undermining Kurdish influence in northern Syria and suppressing Kurdish and pro-Kurdish forces operating there.
