At around 11 a.m. on 27 February 2020, a pair of RussianSukhoi Su-34s accompanied by two SyrianSu-22M4 fighter bombers initiated a series intensive of bombing raids onHayat Tahrir al-Sham forces in the southern countryside of Syria's Idlib province. As per Russian sources, following 1 p.m., Turkish troops launched over 15 attacks usingMANPADS against the Russian and Syrian jets. There were reports of certain Russian aircraft allegedly sustaining damage while evading the barrage of fire.[5]
At around 5 p.m., a convoy consisting of a 400-man Turkish mechanized infantry battalion came under attack by an airstrike while traveling on the road between al-Bara and Balyun, about five kilometers north ofKafr Nabl. The convoy was first halted by a light airstrike carried out by a Su-22M4 aircraft. Subsequently, a second bombing forced 80 Turkish soldiers from the 65th Mechanised Infantry Brigade to seek shelter in nearby buildings.[11] According toAl-Monitor, it is suspected that the Russian jets droppedKAB-1500L bombs, resulting in the collapse of two buildings and trapping several soldiers under the debris.
In response to this attack, the Turkish Armed Forces initiatedOperation Spring Shield in the province of Idlib.Fighter aircraft,combat drones and ground fire were used in the retaliation.[12] Turkish combat drones entered Syrian airspace whileTurkish Air ForceF-16C fighter jets launched long rangeprecision-guided munitions without entering Syrian airspace, according to Turkish sources.[13] According to independent estimates, the retaliatory strikes resulted in the death of approximately 197 to 405 Syrian forces.[14][15] However, the Turkish Defense Ministry had a significantly higher figure, claiming that the Syrian forces' casualties amounted to 3,138.[16]
Greece: On 29 February 2020, the Greek delegation toNATO blocked a joint declaration intended to support Turkey regarding its military operation in Syria. According toKathimerini, the reason for the veto was because the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany denied a Greek demand to add a paragraph regarding the issue of refugees from Turkeyto Greece.[17][18]
Russia: The following day, the Russian government denied it carried out airstrikes in the area and stated it made attempts to ensure the Syrian military ceased firing to allow the evacuation of the Turkish troops, but claimed that Turkish forces should not have been in the area, where "counter-terror operations" were taking place, and that Turkey failed to notify it about the soldiers' presence in advance.[5] The Turkish government claimed that the Russian military had already been notified of Turkish troop locations, as the two militaries had regularly liaised about these.[19]
United States: On 2 March 2020, the U.S.Secretary of DefenceMark Esper denied US air support for Turkey inIdlib. The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff GeneralMark Milley stated that the U.S. did not "have clear" intelligence of who was flying the planes that carried out the strike.[22] On 17 March 2020, the U.S.Secretary of StateMike Pompeo announced new rounds ofsanctions againstSyrian government officials and also for the first time publicly accused Russia for being responsible for the deaths of Turkish troops in Syria, saying "We believe Russia has killed dozens of Turkish military personnel in the course of their military operation," but without naming a specific incident.[23][24]
Syrian Air Force
Russian Air Force (denied by Russia)[1]
34 soldiers killed (Per Turkey and theSOHR)[2][3]
