Turkish forces that entered Syria's Idlib province late on Thursday have started setting up observation positions that appear aimed at containing a Kurdish militia, a senior rebel involved in the operation said early on Friday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey was conducting a 'serious operation' with rebel groups it supports, as part of a 'de-escalation' deal it agreed last month with Iran and Russia in Kazakhstan.
Erdogan then launched a tirade against the United States on Thursday, slamming officials for supporting Kurdish fighters in Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey was conducting a 'serious operation' with rebel groups it supports. Pictured above, Turkish soldiers stand near armoured vehicles during a demonstration in support of the Turkish army's Idlib operation near the Turkey-Syria border near Reyhanli, Hatay
He accused the United States of giving 'weapons for free to a terror organization', referring to the Kurdish YPG, a key ally of the US in its fight against ISIS.
His criticism could worsen the already weakened relationship between Turkey and the United States.
Tensions again rose following the arrest of Metin Topuz, a Turkish national who works for the US consulate in Istanbul.
Turkey’s move into the Idlib province could be seen as a sign countries are forming an alliance against the United States.
The de-escalation zone in Idlib is in line with accords in the Astana peace process aimed at ending the Syrian civil war.
Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed on four such ceasefire zones in Syria as a prelude to negotiations.
Three zones are already in place - in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, in central Homs, and in parts of southern Syria - and are being monitored by Russian military police.
Turkey sent a convoy of about 30 military vehicles into rebel-held northwest Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing in Idlib, rebels and a witness said.
The de-escalation zone in Idlib is in line with accords in the Astana peace process aimed at ending the Syrian civil war
'The allied Turkish armed forces have entered Syrian territory and begun setting up observation posts,' said Mustafa Sejari, an official in a Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group.
Idlib is largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, which ousted more moderate rebels in recent months.
Turkey has been a big supporter of rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad throughout the war.
But since last year Ankara has focused on securing its border, both from jihadists and from Kurdish forces that control much of the frontier area inside Syria.
The Astana agreement with Assad's foreign allies Russia and Iran involves reducing warfare in several regions of Syria, including Idlib and adjacent swathes of the northwest, the most populous rebel-held area.
Tahrir al-Sham, a powerful jihadist alliance that controls much of that territory, is not party to the de-escalation deal, and is at odds with some of the rebel groups that Turkey supports.
Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed on four such ceasefire zones in Syria as a prelude to negotiations to end the war. Pictured above, Turkish military vehicles on a military base in the Syrian village of Atme in the northwestern province of Idlib
However, its forces gave an escort to the Turkish convoy late on Thursday, witnesses said, indicating that there might not be any fighting between them.
Residents of northwest Syria and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have reported intense air raids on Idlib and nearby areas for months.
The convoy was heading towards Sheikh Barakat, a high area overlooking rebel-held territory and the Kurdish YPG-controlled canton of Afrin, the witnesses said.
'(Turkey's deployment is) in line with Astana 6 resolutions to ensure the area is protected from Russian and regime bombing and to foil any attempt by the separatist YPG militias to illegally seize any territory,' said Sejari.
Although Moscow supports Syrian President Assad and Turkey supports rebels seeking his ouster, the two countries have worked together intensely to try to end the conflict in the past few months.
Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have met several times since a 2016 reconciliation ended a crisis caused by the downing of a Russian warplane over Syria.
Relations between Ankara and Washington have been plagued by disputes over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, Turkey's calls for the extradition of a U.S.-based cleric and the indictment of a Turkish former minister in a U.S. court.
But last week's arrest of a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Istanbul marked a fresh low.
Turkey said the employee had links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a failed military coup in July 2016. Gulen denies any connection with the coup.
The US embassy in Ankara condemned Ankara's charges as baseless and announced on Sunday night it was halting all non-immigrant visa services in Turkey while it reassessed Turkey's commitment to the security of its missions and staff.
Within hours, Ankara announced it was taking the same measures against US citizens seeking visas for Turkey.
In a written statement late on Monday, US Ambassador John Bass said the length of the suspension would also depend on 'the Turkish government's commitment to protecting our facilities and personnel here in Turkey'.
He noted that the move was not a visa ban on Turkish citizens, that valid visas could still be used and visa applications could be made outside of Turkey.
The Turkish foreign ministry summoned a U.S. diplomat to urge the United States to lift the visa services suspension, saying it was causing 'unnecessary tensions', and President Tayyip Erdogan also criticised the U.S. move.
'For the (US) embassy in Ankara to take such a decision and implement it, it is upsetting,' Erdogan told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine.
State-run Anadolu news agency said another U.S. consulate worker had been summoned to testify over his wife and daughter's suspected links to Gulen - which it said had emerged during the questioning of Metin Topuz, the employee arrested last week.
The row with the United States coincides with deep strains in Turkey's relations with Germany, another key ally, and with Turkish military activity at the Syrian and Iraqi borders, though their market impact has so far been limited.
US-Turkish tensions have risen in recent months over U.S. military support for Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, considered by Ankara to be an extension of the banned PKK which has waged an insurgency for three decades in southeast Turkey.
The conflict in Syria began with widespread protests against the government in 2011 but has since evolved into a multi-front war that has killed more than 330,000 people.
The last time Turkish forces were engaged in Syria was in August, when Turkey launched its eight-month-long Euphrates Shield operation against jihadists and Kurdish militia in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.
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