Turkey on eve of new military operation in Syria
By Kamila Aliyeva
Turkey is preparing for a new military operation in Syria jointly with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The first stage is expected to involve more than 5,000 FSA soldiers, the Turkish media outlets reported on September 18.
Exact date for the launch of the new military operation in Syria has not been revealed.
Earlier, the Turkish Armed Forces were brought to full combat readiness in connection with the expected military operations against the YPG (Kurdish People’s Protection Units) in Syria.
Currently, about 25,000 Turkish troops are stationed on the border with Syria.
Turkey may start new military operations in the Syrian areas of Tel-Abyad, Afrin, Tel-Rifat and Manbij.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously stated that Turkey intends to expand the zone of military operations in the north of Syria.
Starting from June 21, Turkey began to pull military equipment to the border with Syria.
Military equipment is concentrated in the Turkish province of Kilis, bordering the Syrian territory controlled by the YPG (Kurdish People’s Protection Units) and PYD (Kurdish Democratic Union Party) forces.
The Turkish Armed Forces launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo on August 24, 2016. The operation was dubbed the Euphrates Shield.
The Turkish-led Euphrates Shield was aimed to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.
Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. According to UN's special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, around 400,000 people have died in the conflict while half the population has been driven from their homes.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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