After opposition forces took Syria’s second-biggest city of Aleppo in a surprise offensive, photographs showed a person draping a Turkish flag over the wall of the medieval citadel. It appeared to be the act of a lone individual, but the image was picked up by pro-government Turkish media as a symbol of the sway Ankara has long wielded in its neighbour’s civil war.
The 13-year conflict reignited late last week when the rebels, led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), moved into Aleppo on Friday with little resistance. Turkish-backed factions, which are co-ordinating with HTS, then launched an assault on Sunday on the strategically important northern town of Tel Rifaat, controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces.
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