World

Erdogan indicates Syria operation imminent

October 01, 2019
Jaber Karawan, center, and his wife Walaa, right, sit with their children and others inside a shelter at a camp for displaced Syrians in Atme in the northwestern Idlib province, near the border with Turkey, in this Sept. 20, 2019 file photo. — AFP
Jaber Karawan, center, and his wife Walaa, right, sit with their children and others inside a shelter at a camp for displaced Syrians in Atme in the northwestern Idlib province, near the border with Turkey, in this Sept. 20, 2019 file photo. — AFP

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said his country's patience with US efforts to create a safe zone in northern Syria was running out, indicating an operation was imminent.

The two NATO allies, Turkey and the United States, agreed in August to establish a buffer zone to keep Syrian Kurdish militants away from the Turkish border and help repatriate refugees.

Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to launch a unilateral operation against the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) if the buffer zone was delayed.

"At the current stage, we have no other choice other than to proceed on our own path," he said in the televised speech.

"We have tried every path. We have been extremely patient," he said. "We cannot afford to lose a single day."

The YPG, which controls a swathe of land east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, is a key partner for Washington in the fight against Daesh (the so-called IS), but Ankara says it is a "terrorist" offshoot of Kurdish separatists in its own territory.

Erdogan has hoped the buffer zone will kill two birds with one stone, saying it will also allow the return of up to two million Syrian refugees.

"We are of course aware of the economic, social and cultural challenges caused by 3.6 million refugees because the Syrian crisis has been protracted," he said.

He accused Western countries of deliberately refusing to share the refugee burden, saying they did so "to bring our country to its knees.

"I am asking you: Is Turkey a weak country that can accept such an imposition, blackmailing and vile game?"

The Turkish military has twice launched cross-border operations into Syria against the YPG and Daesh, in 2016 and 2018. — AFP


October 01, 2019
60 views
HIGHLIGHTS
World
34 minutes ago

Abu Shabab forces emerge as new militia in Gaza to challenge Hamas' control

World
55 minutes ago

Iran expels half a million Afghans in 16-day stretch since recent conflict with Israel, UN says

World
hour ago

France's Lady Liberty artwork goes viral as a new Statue of Liberty could be in the works