Turkish Soldiers on the Verge of Being Encircled in Northern Hama

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 (9:20 A.M.) – The recent advances by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Hama and southern Idlib has left a large number of militants and several Turkish soldiers on the verge of being encircled in this region.

Over the last 48 hours, the Syrian Arab Army has managed to advance to the western outskirts of Khan Sheikhoun, while another military force makes the push towards the city’s eastern flank.

With several towns still under militant control south of Khan Sheikhoun, the Syrian Army is looking to isolate these areas from their main supply line and besiege the remaining fighters from Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and Jaysh Al-Izza.

While isolating these militants, the Syrian Army will also be cutting off the Turkish military from their own supply line to their observation post in the northern Hama town of Morek.

It’s not clear what the Turkish military’s plan of action is in Morek, but they may have to resort to either evacuating their forces via helicopter or working out a deal with their Russian partners to open a passage way for their troops.

Either way, the Syrian military has been looking for a way to force Turkey to abandon their observation posts and this latest maneuver is successful, it might be deployed again in the near future.