Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry mentioned Thursday that navy items took all measures for stability within the area amid a brand new spherical of battle in neighboring Syria.
Türkiye is among the many regional actors that will probably be straight influenced by the battle. Syria’s northeast is residence to a stronghold of the YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has killed hundreds in Türkiye because the Eighties. Türkiye additionally hosts the most important Syrian refugee group composed of those that fled the nation greater than a decade in the past. Ankara lately sought to normalize ties with the Assad regime after a prolonged lull, although Damascus apparently failed to reply absolutely to the normalization name.
The ministry’s press adviser, Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk, informed reporters at a weekly press briefing within the capital, Ankara, that Türkiye was in shut cooperation and coordination with all regional counterparts amid developments in Syria. Aktürk repeated Turkish authorities’ earlier statements on the difficulty, noting that the most recent developments stemmed from Syria’s inner dynamics and the regime’s failure to correctly reply to opposing forces’ calls for, which led to lengthy unresolved issues.
Aktürk underlined that Türkiye adhered to agreements concerning operation zones in Syria’s north and anticipated its counterparts to stick to offers as properly. Aktürk didn’t elaborate, however Türkiye backs Syrian opposition forces besides Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads the present offensive whereas Russia helps the Assad regime. Türkiye and Russia launched joint patrols on the M4 freeway on March 15, 2020, days after agreeing to a cease-fire deal within the Idlib area.
The deal included establishing a safety strip extending 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) on the northern and southern sides of M4. The aim was to open the strategic key freeway to site visitors, guarantee management, surveil the terrorist teams within the area and survey the scenario in civilian settlements.
But assaults from regional teams elevated on Turkish and Russian navy convoys throughout patrols, with automobiles taking extreme injury. When a Russian soldier was injured throughout an assault on a joint patrol troop, the edges introduced patrols have been on halt indefinitely. A couple of months in the past, media retailers reported plans to renew patrols.
Separately, in October 2019, Moscow had promised the PKK/YPG terrorists can be eliminated 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 street and within the space exterior the Operation Peace Spring space, which Ankara launched in April 2019, however it did not hold its promise. Russian troops have been deployed in some PKK/YPG-controlled border areas of northern Syria following a 2019 settlement that sought to avert a earlier Turkish operation risk. Terrorist teams captured Manbij in 2016 with the help of the United States. The U.S. pledged the group would depart the city as soon as managed by Daesh after components of the opposite terrorist group turned clear, however the PKK/YPG retained management of Manbij since then.
Aktürk acknowledged that Türkiye supported the territorial integrity of Syria, and it gained’t permit the PKK/YPG, “a serious threat to Syria’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and regional security,” to use instability within the area. “Our stance on the fight against terrorist groups is clear,” he pressured.
In parallel with anti-regime forces’ advance towards Aleppo, the Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition has launched Operation Dawn of Freedom to forestall the PKK/YPG from seizing a key route. The operation succeeded in capturing the strategic city of Tal Rifaat from terrorists. Media retailers reported that SNA NOW seeks to seize Manbij.
On Thursday, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that the PKK/YPG was reinforcing its members in Manbij amid developments. Reports say further terrorists are being dispatched to the city from areas managed by the PKK/YPG east of Euphrates. The group additionally superior by means of an space managed by the regime for a brand new provide line to Manbij. the PKK/YPG launched an assault on SNA forces south of Manbij on Wednesday in a bid to completely management that space.
Source: www.dailysabah.com