Report uncovers truth of 34 Turkish soldiers killed in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A report by Turkish soldiers and officers uncovered yesterday, that Russian missiles killed 34 Turkish soldiers in Syria in 2020, contrary to what the Turkish authorities announced at the time that the Syrian government forces were responsible for the attack.
This came through a report of Turkish soldiers and officers published by the Middle East Eye website two days ago.
On February 27, 2020, four missiles targeted a convoy of Turkish soldiers near the village of Belyoun, south of Idlib.
The report indicated that some officers referred to the participation of Russian forces in the attack, but Turkey at the time, stressed the responsibility of the government forces, and the Russian Defense Ministry agreed to that.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said, at the time, that Syrian pilots, who were confused by opposition forces in the area, mistakenly hit Turkish soldiers.
One of the retired Turkish officers said “They already had a military advantage. Ankara tried to convince them to secure a safe passage to get the dead and wounded out, but they refused.”
Another officer who directed operations in Syria said, “The Russians initially said they believed they had struck the Syrian opposition. Later they denied their involvement completely.”
The Turkish government has not published the radar records for that day, nor have the results of investigations conducted by military experts at the site been published.
Some within Turkish government said Ankara did the right thing by blaming the regime. Turkey did not have enough firepower to confront Russia.
The Turkish soldiers condemned the attack, which killed 34 soldiers and wounded more than 30 others.
A Turkish colonel said “the Syrian regime and Russian warplanes are flying side by side, defending each other to prevent the downing of their warplanes by Turkish forces.”
February 27, 2020, considered the deadliest for Turkey since its intervention in Syria in 2016.
It is considered the largest loss of life for the Turkish army on foreign soil since the military operation in Northern Cyprus in 1974.