Turkish Army Presence in Syria under Whatever Pretext To be Dealt with as an Occupation Force: Army Command

DAMASCUS, (ST)- The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces has warned that any Turkish army presence inside the Syrian territories under whatever pretext is a rejected and condemned act and would be dealt with as an occupation force.

In a statement on Saturday, the Army General Command stressed that  since the beginning of the terrorist aggression on Syria, Erdogan’s regime has played a dirty role in harboring, training, arming and funding  terrorist groups and in facilitating the infiltration of thousands of mercenary terrorists into Syria across the Turkish borders.

 The command stressed that the achievements of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in the war against terrorism, particularly in Aleppo, have undermined Erdogan’s dreams and Turanian schemes in Syria and the region.  The army successes have provoked the Turkish regime to escalate aggression on Syria by bombarding more villages and towns in northern Aleppo, sending more Turkish forces to inside the Syrian territories and providing direct support for terrorist groups through artillery and tanks shelling to help the terrorists carry out their criminal acts against civilians in Aleppo northern countryside.

The statement of the army command added that Erdogan regime’s new aggression is a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic over its lands, warning that any Turkish army presence inside the Syrian territories under whatever pretext  is a rejected and condemned act and it would be dealt with as an occupation force that will be confronted by all means.

The command holds the Turkish leadership fully responsible for the dangerous repercussions of its aggressive acts on the security and stability of the region, the statement said.

Earlier on Saturday, several Turkish tanks and military vehicles made further incursion into the northern countryside of Aleppo within the framework of the Turkish regime’s aggression and continuous attempts to violate the Syrian sovereignty under the pretext of fighting “Deash”, the Turkish regime’s partner in stealing the Syrian oil and artifacts.

On Wednesday, Turkish warplanes committed a massacre against civilians in the villages and towns of Hasadjek, al-Wardiyeh, Hassieh, Ghoul Sorouj, Sad al-Shahba, Ihres and Um Hawsh in the countryside of Aleppo. The airstrikes claimed the lives of more than 150 civilians.

Hamda Mustafa