JAKARTA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Turkey would take the necessary steps in Syria, following the deaths of two Indonesian police officers in an attack on the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist group, the YPG.
This was emphasized by President Erdogan after a cabinet meeting, emphasizing Turkey's determination to eliminate the YPG threat.
"We have run out of patience," said President Erdogan, citing the Daily Sabah of October 12.
"Turkey is determined to eliminate the threats arising from northern Syria, either together with the forces active there, or in our own way," President Erdogan said.
Two Turkish police officers were killed and two others injured after the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group carried out an attack in Azaz, northern Syria, Interior Ministry Tukir said on Sunday.
YPG/PKK terrorists attacked armored vehicles with guided missiles in the area of Operation Euphrates Shield, the ministry said. Initially, one officer died soon after the attack, and three others were injured, but another officer succumbed to his injuries and died.
To note, Turkey has carried out operations against terrorist groups in northern Iraq and Syria, in particular the YPG/PKK. Under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield on August 24, 2016, exercising its right of self-defense to eradicate terrorist elements that threaten its national security, especially Daesh (ISIS), and ensure border security in northern Syria.
On the first day of the operation, the Syrian city of Jarablus, which borders the Karkam district in Turkey's southeastern Gaziantep Province, was liberated from terrorist elements. On 23 February 2017, the northwestern city of al-Bab was liberated from ISIS terrorists.
During the operation, an area of 2.055 square kilometers (793 square miles) between the two cities was also cleared of terrorist groups in 217 days. The Turkish Army and the Syrian National Army (SNA) eliminated more than 3.000 Daesh terrorists in nearly seven months.
On March 29, then Prime Minister Binali Yıldrım announced that the operation was successfully completed. At the end of the operation, Turkey focused on providing security and stability in the region to create the necessary conditions for the repatriation of civilians displaced by terrorism.
To that end, security forces and officials trained in Turkey began operating in the region. Through Turkey's initiatives and support in the areas of health, education, and public services, the population in the region has reached nearly 2 million.
The northern Syrian districts under Turkish control are regularly targeted by the YPG, which seized large swathes of land in the war-torn north of the country with the blessing of the Assad regime when clashes escalated in 2012.
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Ankara considers the YPG, which is backed by the US-led anti-ISIS coalition under the pretext of fighting the Daesh terrorist group on the ground, as a serious national security threat.
The Syrian war has killed more than 387.000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-regime protests.
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