A Syrian field source confirmed Tuesday that the Syrian army is reinforcing its positions and forces and strengthening its fortifications, as Turkish forces bring military reinforcements to the city of Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Iran PressMiddle East: The source said that the Turkish forces brought tankers and pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns to Azaz, adding that the forces included more than 2,500 militants from the city of Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo and several other surrounding areas.

The source indicated that these reinforcements were not the first that Turkey brings to Azaz.

The Syrian source added that the fronts that the Turkish forces are strengthening extend from the town of Kafr Khasher, Kaljibrin, Marea, Azaz, Maryamin, and Jalbul.

According to the source, the Syrian army is also strengthening its positions, forces, and fortifications in the area, stressing that Syria will confront any attack.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on May 23 that the Turkish army intends to carry out military operations to "combat terrorism" at the Turkish state borders, explaining that his government "will start taking new steps to complete the safe zone 30 km north of Syria."

In response, an official source in the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates considered that “Establishing a so-called safe zone on Syrian territory is a shameful act of aggression and part of Erdogan's policy of ethnic and geographical cleansing in the occupied Syrian territories, which amounts to a crime against humanity."

The same source stressed "Syria's right, under international law, to confront any measures taken by Erdogan’s regime and its terrorist organizations," urging "all illegal foreign forces to leave Syrian territory."

Similarly, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed "its concern over the Turkish military operation in northern Syria, hoping that Ankara will refrain from actions that may lead to a deterioration of the situation in Syria.

The Russian ministry noted that security at the Syrian-Turkish border can only be ensured through the deployment of Syrian soldiers from the Syrian security forces in the adjacent area.

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