Syria Accuses Turkey of Mass Deploying Their Troops Inside of Syria

Turkish army soldiers stand guard as Kurdish people wait in a hope to enter Cizre, a town subject to a curfew as part of a controversial operation against Kurdish rebels, on March 22, 2016 in Mardin, for Newroz celebration. Nowruz, the Farsi-language word for ‘New Year’, is an ancient Persian festival, celebrated on the first day of spring, March 21, in Central Asian republics, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran. / AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN

BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:35 P.M.) – Syria’s Permanent Representative to United Nations, Dr. Bashar Al-Ja’afari, accused Turkey of mass deploying their troops inside of Syria during the Astana Peace Conference on Friday.

During his speech at the peace conference, the veteran Syrian diplomat accused Turkey of deploying more than 10,000 soldiers and 166 tanks inside of northern Syria.

The Syrian diplomat highlighted the fact that the Turkish troops were acting as occupation force within a sovereign nation, adding that they were illegally inside of Syria.

Turkey maintains that they’re conducting “anti-terror operations” in line with an agreement with Syria that was established in the late 1990s.

Syria, on the other hand, says the agreement is null and void because Turkey broke off diplomatic relations in 2012.

While both Syria and Turkey have acknowledged that they share some intelligence reports, both nations have refused to move towards diplomatic rapprochement.