Turkish PM says Idlib operation aims to prevent migrant wave from Syria

Turkey's military operations in Syria's opposition-held province of Idlib aim to prevent a wave of migration into Turkey, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday.

Turkey has said it will provide assistance to opposition it has long backed as it implements a de-escalation agreement in the area.

The agreement is designed to reduce fighting with pro-regime forces in what is the most populous pocket of Syria still in the hands of opposition.

On Sunday, a Turkish army reconnaissance team scouted the Idlib province before an expected military operation to pave the way to peace in the bitterly contested Syrian northwest.

"The reason for our activities is to prepare the groundwork and prevent a potential migrant wave into our country and lower tensions," Yildirim told a parliamentary meeting of the ruling AK Party.

Turkey, which is already hosting around three million Syrian refugees, has been one of the biggest supporters of the opposition fighting against Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad and militant groups during the six-and-a-half-year civil war.

Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli on Tuesday said Turkey must be present in Syria's Idlib province until the threat from there towards Turkey is over.

The move is in line with the rules of engagement agreed in the Astana process last month in the Kazakhstan capital. 

Yildirim also said Turkey aimed to create control points in Idlib for future deployments, and that the activities of the armed forces in Idlib would help prevent internal conflicts between civilians and opposition groups in the region.