STORY: Türkiye not to allow Syria to be divided again: Erdogan
SHOOTING DATE: Dec. 10, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:20
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
(courtesy of ihlas news agency)
1. various of Syrian refugees at the Cilvegozu border gate on the Türkiye-Syria border
2. various of Syrian refugees at the Oncupinar border gate on the Türkiye-Syria border
3. various of Syrian refugees at the Yayladagi border gate on the Türkiye-Syria border

STORYLINE:

Türkiye will not allow Syria to become a conflict zone and be divided once again, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Ankara Tuesday.

"Any attack on the stability of the new Syrian government or the integrity of ancient Syrian lands will face both the Syrian people and us," Erdogan said at a ruling party meeting.

"We cannot accept any steps or provocations aimed at preventing the return of our Syrian brothers and sisters to their homes," he noted.

Syrian militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), waged a major offensive from northern Syria since Nov. 27, and have since swept southwards through government-held areas, capturing the capital Damascus within 12 days.

Following the offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government collapsed on Sunday. Al-Assad has resigned and arrived in Russia for asylum.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mohammed al-Bashir, an electrical engineer and head of the "Syrian Salvation Government" in Idlib formed in 2017 by the HTS and other Syrian militant groups during the Syrian civil war, announced that he has been tasked with heading a transitional government in Syria until early March 2025.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)