ISTANBUL, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not allow the Syrian government to gain ground in Idlib, the last rebel-held stronghold in Syria, local media reported Tuesday.
"Syria is currently trying to gain territory by driving innocent and poor people in Idlib toward our border," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the Cumhuriyet daily.
"We will not give Syria the opportunity to gain territory there because this increases our burden," he added.
Turkish forces have started to build shelters 30 to 40 km into Syria for those who fled Idlib because of the Russia-backed attacks by the Syrian government forces, according to the Turkish president.
On Monday, Erdogan announced that Turkey has been retaliating against a Syrian attack on its soldiers in Idlib which killed eight Turks including five soldiers.
On the same day, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said 76 Syrian soldiers "were neutralized" and 54 targets hit by Turkish forces in the Idlib region.
Omer Celik, spokesman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, said on Tuesday that Turkey has done its part as a guarantor within the framework of the Astana agreement and blamed the Syrian government for not acting in line with the reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the CNNTurk broadcaster reported that Turkey has continued to deploy military vehicles to its border area.
