Turkish armed forces have entered the Idlib Governorate of Syria under the pretext of setting up observation posts in accordance with the Astana 6 decision on creating a de-escalation zone in Syria, reported the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The Turkish General Staff statement says the military is entering Idlib in the context of setting up observation posts.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for his part, announced that the troops have entered Idlib together with the “Free Army.”

Reuters news agency and Turkish media stress that militants from the Al-Nusra Front accompanied the Turkish forces when crossing the Bab al-Hawa border checkpoint of the Idlib Governorate.