Syrian Turkmen facing 'critical' period in battle
Leader says Turkmen opposition forces hit by Russian bombs, regime attacks
Hatay
HATAY, Turkey
Fighting between Syrian Turkmen forces and regime troops is “critical", the leader of the Turkmen opposition said Wednesday.
Russian airpower is carrying out heavy bombing of villages around Kizildag, in the mountainous Bayirbucak border region of northwest Syria.
The site of the fighting is close to where a Russian SU-24 bomber was brought down by the Turkish Air Force on Tuesday.
“Our young people continue fighting,” Abdurrahman Mustafa, head of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, told Anadolu Agency. “Russians and regime forces hit the logistic points to prevent any support.”
Kizildag was retaken by Turkmen fighters on Tuesday after it was seized by regime forces on Friday.
The Russian-backed offensive has caused thousands of Turkmen refugees to cross into Turkey, which led Ankara to summon Russia's ambassador on Friday.
The Turkmen are a Turkic ethnic group based largely in Syria and Iraq that share close cultural ties with Turkey.
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