APD | Turkey mulls operation against Kurdish militia in safe zone in two weeks

By APD writer Aditya Nugraha

Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan said the nation plans to hold operation in northeastern Syria safe zone in the next two weeks should no specific measures are taken in its joint patrol with the United States in the area.

Speaking on the sidelines of Russia-Turkey-Iran summit here on Tuesday Erdogan said that Kurdish militia from the People's Protection Units (YPG) are keeping local population at bay.

Erdogan said that as long as the YPG and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) actively operating in northern Syria, Turkish people will not be able to live in safety.

Turkey views the Kurdish forces as a threat to national security and had repeatedly threatened to launch an incursion into northern Syria to force them out of the territory.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of mostly Kurdish YPG fighters, have been key allies of the United States in northern Syria, where US soldiers are still stationed.

Turkey and the United States reached an agreement August to create the safe zone following months of tensions between the two over the presence of Kurdish militants in northern Syria.

Under the agreement Kurdish YPG forces will remove their forces and heavy weapons from the safe zone.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has accused the United States of delaying talks on the formation of the agreed safe zone, saying that Washington has dragged out the process.

Early this month, Erdogan said that US efforts on establishing the safe zone in northeastern Syria fell short of Ankara’s expectations.

The Syrian government has opposed the US-Turkish agreement, labeling it as a violation of both Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as a violation of international law.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)