Turkey to launch a military operation in northeast Syria: Erdogan
Turkish President Erdogan in an unprecedented move announced a Military operation in North-East Syria. As Erdogan finds Washington is not doing enough to expel Kurdish fighters from the Syrian region touching Turkish borders.
President Erdogan warned of air and ground operations anytime over the East of the Euphrates river in Syrian territory.
Addressing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s 29th Consultation and Assessment meeting in Kizilcahaman, a retreat town of capital Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey aims to establish peace east of the Euphrates River by purging the Syrian region from Kurdish fighters
“We have completed our preparations and action plan, the necessary instructions were given,” Erdogan said, adding:
It is maybe today or tomorrow the time to clear the way for [our] peace efforts which is set and the process for them was started. We will carry out a ground and air operation.
Our aim is, I underline it, to shower east of Euphrates with peace…
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted two major military operations in northwestern Syria – Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch – to purge the region of Daesh and the YPG Kurdish fighters.
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Erdogan stressed, “Turkey has to carry out and succeed in this operation [east of Euphrates] for both its national security and [to ensure] the return of Syrians in Turkey to their own country.”
Turkey has long complained about the threat of militants coming from east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, which neighbors its southern border, vowing to take a military action to prevent formation of a “terrorist corridor” there.
Turkey made all kinds of warning to the related parties of the issue on establishing a safe zone in northern Syria, Erdogan said.
