Turkey deploys 80 tanks to Syria border

Turkey sent 80 military vehicles to its southern border with Syria, the Anadolu news agency reported with reference to military sources.

The deployment was part of reinforcements for troops stationed along the border. The vehicles were sent to the Iskendurun district of the southeastern province of Hatay, the agency added.

Anadolu also reported that the army had dispatched first aid trucks and military vehicles to the same location, along with heavy equipment. A third convoy of armoured vehicles was heading to Hatay’s Reyhanli district, where Turkey’s Cilvegozu border gate with Syria is located.

Turkey’s foreign minister Fikri Isik earlier said Russia, Iran and Turkey had agreed to deploy observers around a de-escalation zone in northern Syria’s Idlib region, which is mostly controlled by militants linked to a former al Qaeda affiliate.