Not possible to give any date in military operations such as Peace Spring, says Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
As of Tuesday, 1,230 terrorists have been neutralized in Turkey's anti-terror operation in northern Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists traveling with him in the plane following meetings in Qatar, Erdogan said that Turkey's fight against terrorism does not have a specific schedule.
"It is not possible to give any date in such military operations," he said, referring to Operation Peace Spring east of the Euphrates River.
Operation Peace Spring, launched on Oct. 9, aims to eliminate the terrorist YPG/PKK from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.
Following two separate deals with Washington and Moscow, the operation has been paused to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from a planned northern Syria safe zone.
Turkey wants to repatriate some two million of Syrian refugees it is currently hosting to the zone after clearing it of terrorists.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
