Turkey hints at new operation in Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raises the stakes in Syria by hinting that Ankara will launch a new incursion to build on its previous one.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest public statements indicate that an operation by Turkey may be imminent against Kurds in northern Syria, who operate under the banner of the People's Protection Units (YPG). At least this is the widespread impression he is giving.
The reinforcement of Turkish forces along the Syrian border appears to confirm this as well. It seems more of a question of when, not if, this operation, which press reports say will be codenamed “Euphrates Sword,” will begin.
“We are determined to push deeper the dagger we drove into the heart of the terrorist formation’s project in Syria with new advances,” Erdogan said in an address to a large crowd of supporters in the eastern Turkish city of Malatya on Aug. 5.
The dagger he referred to is Operation Euphrates Shield, which Turkey mounted in August 2016 and ended in March this year.
