Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures to supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures to supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party AKP), at a rally in Bingol, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. Erdogan has said Turkey will oust Kurdish militants from Afrin, northern Syria, as the military shelled the area from across the border. Turkey considers the YPG a terror group and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures to supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party AKP), at a rally in Bingol, eastern Turkey, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. Erdogan has said Turkey will oust Kurdish militants from Afrin, northern Syria, as the military shelled the area from across the border. Turkey considers the YPG a terror group and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.

World

Turkey vows to attack Kurdish enclave in Syria within 'days'

The Associated Press

January 14, 2018 07:01 AM

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.

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 combatting the Islamic State group and stemming the advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. Turkish troops are stationed in rebel-held territory on both sides of Afrin.

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