Baku. TurkicWorld:
Turkey will launch a new anti-terror operation in northeastern Syria in a bid to clear Tal Rifaat and Manbij provinces of the YPG terrorists, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, describing the new offensive as a new stage in Turkey’s efforts to create a 30-kilometer deep security zone in the Syrian territories.
Turkey had already conducted four military operations in northeastern Syria, first against the presence ISIL and then against the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. Turkey’s latest operation took place in late 2019 and created a safe zone in an area between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn as a result of two memorandums of understandings with the United States and Russia.
The U.S. and other Western countries have been partnering with the YPG, under the name of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since 2015, despite Ankara’s strong criticisms. Turkey has recently been complaining about the increased terrorist activities by the YPG in northeastern Syria and urging Washington and Moscow to abide by the 2019 protocols.
Erdogan announced Turkey’s new targets as Tal Rifaat and Manbij provinces, although the former is largely under the control of Russian military presence and the latter by the American troops.
“Our operations will gradually expand to other regions,” ErdoGan vowed, saying, “We will see who will support Turkey’s legitimate moves concerning its security and who will oppose them.”
