Ankara, Dec 19 (IANS) Turkey will continue its military activity in northern Syria until Kurdish fighters fully “disarm,” Turkish semi-official Anadolu Agency reported Thursday, citing a Defence Ministry source.
Highlighting ongoing threats from Kurdish forces within Syria to Turkey’s southern border, the source said, “Our counter-terrorism measures and preparations will persist until terrorist groups lay down arms and their foreign fighters leave Syria.”
The source made the remarks in response to allegations that the Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army, a coalition of armed groups backed by Turkey, are preparing for operations against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the east of the Euphrates.
Turkey sees the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, and has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
The Turkish military has launched several operations since 2016 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border with the neighbouring country.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that Ankara will not allow Syria to become a conflict zone and be divided once again.
“Any attack on the stability of the new Syrian government or the integrity of ancient Syrian lands will face both the Syrian people and us,” Erdogan said at a ruling party meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We cannot accept any steps or provocations aimed at preventing the return of our Syrian brothers and sisters to their homes,” he noted.
Syrian militant groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), waged a major offensive from northern Syria starting November 27 and swept southwards through government-held areas, capturing the capital Damascus within 12 days.
Following the offensive, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resigned and arrived in Russia for asylum.
Mohammed al-Bashir, an electrical engineer and head of the ‘Syrian Salvation Government’ in Idlib formed in 2017 by the HTS and other Syrian militant groups during the Syrian civil war, was tasked with heading a transitional government in Syria until early March 2025.
–IANS
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