Cities in Syria’s northwest voice anger due to Turkey’s FM statements
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Residents in cities, towns and villages that are run by Turkish-backed Syrian opposition factions in northwest Syria witnessed on Thursday night demonstrations, expressing their anger due to statements by Turkish Foreign Minister about reconciliation with the Syrian government.
Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that his country intends to normalize ties with the Syrian government and calls for reconciliation between the government and the opposition.
“We need to bring the opposition and regime together for reconciliation somehow, there will be no permanent peace otherwise,” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Belgrade.
He also revealed that he had held a short meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mekdad in Belgrade in October, adding that communication had resumed between the two countries’ intelligence agencies.
The statements have sparked calls for protests after Friday prayers in the key cities under the control of Turkish forces and their affiliated factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), including in al-Bab, Azaz, Afrin and Jarablus.
The Department of Moral Guidance of the SNA issued a notice warning against insulting the Turkish flag.
It likened the Turkish flag to the flag of the Syrian revolution, describing the abusers as “ignorant”.
It vowed to hold the protesters accountable in the event that they burned the Turkish flag again.
Also, in the city of Idlib that is run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), calls were waged for protesting at border crossings with Turkey.