Turkey has spent over a month building an observation post north of the rebel-held town of Qalaat al Madiq, near the line of control with Syrian government forces in the Ghab plain. The exact coordinates of the base are “35.49 36.394“. Located atop a hill 3 km south of Shahranaz and 8 km north of Qalaat al Madiq town proper, the post overlooks the Ghab plain and affords a panoramic view of the entire southwest of the rebel frontline, from al-Huwayz to Kafr Nabudeh.

This post, called “Observation Post 10”, was constructed in accordance with the Astana agreement, a framework reached in 2017 by Turkey, Russia, and the Syrian government to de-escalate the civil war and move towards peace in the country. Over the past six months, Turkey has been feverishly constructing bases along the frontline with the Syrian government in order to ensure the frontline remains stable and neither side launches attacks on the other. So far, the agreement seems to have worked, since no major attacks have occurred in the past six months.