Turkey vows to attack Kurdish enclave in Syria within ‘days’

14 January 2018, 2:59 pm

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ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president says it will launch a military assault on a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria “in the coming days.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday the operation against the Afrin enclave will aim to “purge terror” from his country’s southern border.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves to supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), at a rally in Elazig, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. (Pool Photo via AP)

Afrin is controlled by a Kurdish militia known as the YPG, which Turkey views as a terror group and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency raging in its southeast.

Erdogan said the new operation would be an extension of Turkey’s 2016 incursion into northern Syria, which was aimed at combating the Islamic State group and stemming the advance of US-backed Kurdish forces. Turkish troops are stationed in rebel-held territory on both sides of Afrin.

— AP