What are the other weapons that Erdogan uses in Syria?

The international actors present in the Syrian conflict, especially Turkey, have taken advantage of the situation of instability that characterises this country, which has been in conflict since 2011, to increase their influence in regions such as Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in the region, where much of the opposition to Bashar al-Assad's government is concentrated, and thus realise their ambitions. The president of the Eurasian nation - who has repeatedly made clear his position on the conflict plaguing Syria - has opened his country's borders to hundreds of displaced persons and refugees, as well as to the Syrian opposition, especially those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafists or other extremist groups, the digital Middle East Online reported on Tuesday. 

Ankara has supported some of these militias and other extremist Islamic groups such as Al-Nusra. "The Al-Nusra front was following orders from Turkey and receiving material and media support from the Eurasian nation to fight on its behalf in Idlib and other regions of Syria," the newspaper said. 

The country led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also financed some terrorist groups or facilitated their entry and exit from Syria through the Turkish border, making Idlib an area controlled by Turkish intelligence. "Erdogan's intelligence services have been trying for years to transform Idlib province into a focus of terrorism controlled by them under the pretext of fighting the Kurds," they said, noting that their presence in this region threatens the security of other nearby provinces, such as Aleppo, Latakia or Homs. 

In addition to allowing extremists in and out, this analysis denounces Turkey's theft of Syrian natural resources, such as oil and water from the Euphrates River, by building dams that could cause a humanitarian catastrophe. However, Erdogan has repeatedly stated that his country did not care about Syria's oil and instead cared about the Syrians, claiming that Turkey is the only country that, when looking at Syria, sees people not oil. 

However, research by Middle East Online has criticised Turkey's double game in Syria, as shortly after making these statements, Erdogan revealed his interest in Syrian oil and asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to participate in the management of the oil fields in the eastern province of Deiz Ezzor. "Instead of the terrorists benefiting here we would have the opportunity to rebuild Syria from the revenues of this [oil field]. This will also show who is behind the protection of Syria's unity and who is behind the takeover of it," he said. 

Most of Syria's black gold deposits are concentrated in Deiz Ezzor or near the borders of Iraq and Turkey. The Omar field -- located in the Deiz Ezzor countryside -- is the largest in the country and is controlled -- like other facilities -- by the Syrian Democratic Forces, designated by Erdogan as a terrorist organization. In this context and according to the Middle East Monitor article, Erdogan created from the beginning a strong economic partnership with Daesh and provided them with weapons, medical and logistical assistance. 

In addition, and in the same way, Syrian armed groups cooperating with Ankara cut off the water to more than 500,000 Syrians in the provinces of Al-Hasakah and Ras al-Ain through the Aluk station, in an attempt to sabotage and put pressure on the Kurds. "Turkey is working to punish the Kurds. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that hundreds of thousands of people in northeast Syria faced an increased risk of contracting the new coronavirus due to the disruption of the water supply," they reported on this website. 

Meanwhile, the Turkish government has taken advantage of the instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to supply weapons under the umbrella of humanitarian aid to rebel groups operating in Idlib, as well as other areas under Turkish occupation, such as Afrin or the border areas between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. In short, in pursuit of its ambitions, Ankara has committed dozens of humanitarian violations and massacres against Syrian civilians in Idlib and Afrin in recent years.