Turkey accelerates preparations for Afrin operation

Preparations for a military operation in Syria’s Afrin, a hotbed for the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) terrorist organization, have been accelerated. With military drills on Turkey’s borders, Afrin has been surrounded, and a logistics and supply line has been established.

There is a great deal of activity for 100 kilometers in the region from Reyanlı-Bükülmez to Kilis. Measures were also taken to prevent infiltration of the settlements on the Syrian side of the border in Nasıriye, Sheikh Hadid, Sate, Raju, Meidan Ekbis and Bulbul. Security units in Amanos, which the PKK uses frequently to infiltrate Turkey, are on alert.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have launched plans to expand the front in Atme, which is home to refugee camps and the line between the Syrian opposition and the PKK. This will enable the TAF to surround Afrin from three sides.

TAF bases in the Euphrates Shield region and Turkish-backed opposition forces are also continuing their preparations. Military sources indicated that the main purpose of the operation was to isolate the terrorists in Afrin from the world.

Afrin, one of the first areas that the PKK seized after the war in Syria, is one of the terrorist organization’s psychologically and strategically critical regions. Afrin plays a key role in the PKK’s plan to open a terror corridor into the Mediterranean. The terrorists in Afrin are allegedly bring reinforcements from Aleppo.

Clashes between the PKK terrorists and opposition forces are frequent in the region.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.

While Turkish troops are preparing to ensure security in Idlib in the context of the agreement made in Astana, the military shipment to the Hatay-Kilis line continued on Wednesday. Military vehicles were transported from Kırklareli to İskenderun Gar, close to the Turkey-Syria border.

The military reinforcements were then taken to Ahmet Tor Barracks. The reinforcements included tanks, howitzers and armored vehicles that are to be positioned in border regions.