Erdogan warns he will launch ground operations “when he sees fit” despite criticism from Damascus for violating its “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Turkish authorities reported on Wednesday that 254 Kurdish terrorists have been “neutralized” by the army in a new wave of bombings in the so-called ‘Sword Claw’ operation. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar specified that the attacks hit 471 “targets” in Iraq and Syria linked to the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdish-Syrian militia People’s Protection Units (YPG), which he accuses of carrying out an attack on November 13 in Istanbul, killing six and injuring 81.
Turkey uses the term “neutralized” to refer to the fact that the suspects have died, been captured or surrendered to authorities. In this case, the Ankara government considers them dead as they were bombings.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that the new bombing campaign launched since Sunday against Kurdish groups in Iraq and Syria “is just the beginning” and reiterated that Ankara will launch ground operations “when it deems necessary”. “We will hit the terrorists hard,” he warned, pointing out that the Syrian cities of Tal Rifat, Manbij, Ayn al-Arab (Kobane in Kurdish) are the main targets. The goal, he explained, is to guarantee the southern border by establishing a security zone 30 kilometers wide.
Erdogan’s message came after Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan criticized Ankara for violating the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the Arab country with these raids. The Turkish president, on the other hand, confirmed his determination to continue the shelling against the Kurdish “terrorists”. “If our interlocutors cannot abide by the agreement to ensure security at the border, we have the right to take care of ourselves,” he replied.
Source: La Verdad
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