Binali Yıldırım says operation will continue until terror group is completely uprooted
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said there was no timeline for the ongoing Operation Olive Branch, and that it was not limited to Syria's Afrin.
"Our struggle in the Afrin region is not only to secure the borders of our country but also to protect the life and property of our citizens and to save the oppressed people living in Iraq and Syria from the persecution of the [PKK/PYD/YPG] terrorist organization," Yıldırım said on Friday, speaking at a graduation ceremony at National Defense University in Istanbul.
"This operation based on international law and our legitimate rights will continue to the end. [Telling] any day or date [when it will end] is out of question here. This operation is not limited to Afrin. Wherever there is a terror threat is a target for us," he added.
A total of 2,295 YPG/PKK-Daesh terrorists have been "neutralized" since the launch of Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Friday.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG) is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Operation Olive Branch was initiated on Jan. 20 in Afrin to establish security and stability, eliminate terrorists of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh, and save locals from the terrorists’ oppression and cruelty.
Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.
The premier also stressed the importance of national technology, information, and experience, calling these “the most important factors for the nation’s national security.”
“In the last 15 years, we’ve made $35 billion in investments in the defense industry and we’ve become a country which exports defense products.”
“Our state is offering every kind of technological facility to the Turkish Armed Forces and will continue to do so," he added.
