Luftangriffe 2020 in Balyun

Vorlage:Infobox military operation Vorlage:Campaignbox Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War On 27 February 2020, the Russian Air Force and Syrian Arab Air Force conducted two airstrikes against a Turkish Army convoy in Balyun, Idlib. The strikes resulted in the deaths of 36 Turkish soldiers according to the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while other sources close to Turkey gave tolls of 50–100 dead Turkish soldiers, making it the single deadliest attack on Turkish forces since the start of their involvement in the Syrian Civil War. Between 36 and 60 soldiers were also wounded, of which 16 were reported to be in critical condition.

The strikes

At around 11 a.m. on 27 February 2020, two Russian Sukhoi Su-34 and two Syrian Su-22 fighter jets started intensive bombing raids of Turkish-backed rebel forces in the southern countryside of Syria's Idlib province. According to Russian sources, after 1 p.m., Turkish troops conducted more than 15 MANPADS attacks against the Russian and Syrian jets, with some Russian aircraft allegedly suffering damage while evading the fire.

At around 5 p.m., a 400-man Turkish mechanized infantry battalion traveling in a convoy was targeted by an airstrike on the road between al-Bara and Balyun, around five kilometers north of Kafr Nabl. A light airstrike by a Su-22s halted the convoy, after which more intense bombing forced the Turkish soldiers to take shelter in the nearby buildings. The Russian jets then reportedly dropped KAB-1500L laser-guided bombs on the Turkish positions, collapsing two buildings and leaving a number of soldiers under the rubble. Russia denied it carried out airstrikes in the area and stated it made attempts to ensure the Syrian military ceased firing to allow the evacuation of the Turkish troops, but noted the Turkish forces should not have been in the area, where "counter-terror operations" were taking place, and that Turkey failed to notify it about the soldiers' presence in advance.

Turkish retaliation

According to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, Turkey responded to the airstrikes and neutralized 329 Syrian government troops and destroyed five helicopters, 23 tanks, 10 armored vehicles 23 artillery and howitzers, five ammunition trucks, one SA-17 and one SA-22 air defense systems, three ammunition depots, two inventory depots and one headquarter building belonging to the Syrian government, which could not be corroborated. A Syrian military official acknowledged their armored and technical vehicles were heavily targeted and that their northwestern Syria arsenal suffered significant destruction. The SOHR reported that 170 Syrian soldiers and 27 other allied foreign fighters were killed by Turkish drone and artillery attacks between 28 February and 5 March. Syrian government fire killed seven Turkish soldiers and injured 21 more.

Fighter aircraft, combat drones and ground fire were used in the retaliation according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense. According to Turkish sources, Turkish combat drones entered Syrian airspace while Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jets launched long range precision-guided munitions without entering Syrian airspace.

Turkey also deployed MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missiles to its border with Syria the following day.

Reactions

Protests against Russia occurred at the Russian Consulate in Istanbul the day following the strikes. The Turkish cabinet had an emergency meeting concerning the airstrikes. The Turkish government then threatened retaliation against the Syrian government for the strikes, and opened up its borders for Syrian refugees to enter into mainland Europe. In addition, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, concerning the incident.

On 29 February 2020, the Greek delegation to NATO blocked the issuance of a joint declaration intended to support Turkey regarding its military operation in Syria. According to Kathimerini daily, the reason for the veto was because the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany denied the Greek demand to add a paragraph, regarding the issue of refugee and migrant influx from Turkey to Greece.

On 2 March 2020, the U.S. Secretary of Defence Mark Esper denied US air support for Turkey in Idlib, Syria. The Chairman of the US Joint Staffs General Mark Milley stated that they dont “have clear" intelligence of who was flying the planes that carried out the strike.