Turkey ups support for militants as Syria forces make new gains

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s success against foreign-backed militants in the country is pushing Turkey to increase its support for the militants, an analyst tells Press TV.
Executive Intelligence Review’s Bill Jones made the remarks during an interview with Press TV on Tuesday.
Jones pointed to the Syrian army’s successful clean-up operations across the Arab country, tightening the noose around foreign-backed Takfiri militants.
“…It seems to me that the backers of the insurgency which includes of course Turkey as well as Saudi Arabia probably are not very happy about that, so that, they would like to move further with trying to up the ante,” he added.
Jones noted that the victory of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party in the recent local elections in Turkey could falsely make the premier feel that “the wind is at his back and he can move further” his hostility toward Syria and “that of course is a very dangerous situation.”
On Monday, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the Turkish government is facilitating the entry of foreign militants into the Christian town of Kasab in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Over 140,000 people have been reportedly killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by the foreign-backed militants.
Western powers and some of their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria.