At the initial stage, Erdogan set one goal for his military experts: to provoke a new military conflict in Syria, which would lead to the mass death of those militants so ardently supported by the official authorities of Turkey.
Oppositional Turkish politicians systematically criticize President Erdogan for the policies he pursues with regard to Syria and Libya. So, a few days ago, the chairman of the opposition People’s Republican Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroлуlu, described the actions of the Turkish leader as “stupid and illiterate”. Today it became known that a petition is gathering momentum in Ankara demanding the speedy withdrawal of the Turkish military contingent from Syria and the completion of the Spring Shield mission. Among the signatories are politicians, artists, cultural and art workers, trade union leaders.
The Bozkurt (Gray Wolves), representatives of the extreme right organization, also express some dissatisfaction with the actions of the Turkish leadership. Since the start of the Syrian campaign, Turkish nationalists have been extremely negative both towards refugees and members of various armed groups supported by Ankara and enjoying certain social benefits in Turkey.
So, in July 2014, thousands of people marched in the city of Marash, protesting against the influx of Syrian refugees. They blocked roads, knocked down Arabic signs from stores. Then the Erdogan government chose not to aggravate relations with the right, saying that the action could be organized by provocateurs.
Today it became known about the pogroms by nationalists of the refugee quarter in Elbistan in the province of Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey. Thousands of nationalists defeated the homes of the compact residence of the Syrians. What is characteristic, the bulk of the activists were not Bozkurt, but some religious activists.
Nationalists are also extremely dissatisfied with Erdogan’s policy in Syria: some of the “wolves” require more decisive action from the head of state, as well as the use of missile systems to minimize casualties among military personnel, while the bulk insists on the complete cessation of the operation – the complete withdrawal of military personnel who “die for the Arab interests”, with subsequent total closure of borders.
It should be noted that a certain dissatisfaction is expressed in Turkey’s policies in Europe: opposition politicians directly accuse Erdogan of escalating the situation in Idlib, which provoked a new flow of refugees. We are sure that the decision of the Turkish leader to open borders will be remembered in the future by Ankara and the leaders of European states…
Why did Erdogan still decide to enter the land contingent on the territory of Syria and start the operation “Spring Shield”?!
The answer to this question was prompted to us by one of the inhabitants of Ankara… In his opinion, the inhabitants of the southern Turkish provinces are now very worried about the situations with Syrian migrants and the massive influx of militants from illegal armed groups from the territory of the Arab Republic. All this gave rise to one big problem, which is called the growth of crime and banditry.
At the initial stage, Erdogan set one goal for his military experts: to provoke a new military conflict in Syria, which would lead to the mass death of those militants so ardently supported by the official authorities of Turkey. And in the case of certain successes, in the Arab Republic would increase the territory on which it would be possible to resettle those very members of illegal armed groups…
The massive refusal of terrorists to engage in clashes with the Syrian military forced the Turkish president to take decisive action. At the initial stage, peculiar barrage detachments from the Turkish gendarmerie were introduced into Idlib, which were supposed to prevent the militants from escaping.
When this didn’t help, Erdogan brought several thousand soldiers and officers of his army into the territory, who with their presence would have to “cheer up” the militants.
However, the situation has not fundamentally changed, with one exception: in Idlib, the mass deaths of Turkish troops began.
Thus, the Turkish leader himself drove himself to a certain impasse: trying to get rid of illegal militants generated by him by any means, he complicated the already difficult relations with the EU and naturally provoked a military conflict with Syria, which led to mass the death of the Turkish, which he will probably be reminded for a long time.
Riyad Farid Hijab, Syria, specially for News Front