The Turkish army is fully prepared for the start of a cross-border operation in Syria and is waiting for the order to start it, TGRT TV channel reported on Monday.
According to its information, all preparations for the military operation have been completed. It will differ from the four previous operations conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces since 2016 in the neighboring territory in that the emphasis in it will be on the use of Turkey's own military equipment or modernized ones, TGRT noted.
Turkey is planning to use unmanned aerial vehicles, including Bayraktar, Koral electronic warfare systems, T129 ATAK reconnaissance and attack helicopters, F-16 fighters with new avionics and M60T armored tanks produced in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has previously stated that the operation in northern Syria could be launched at any time, initially aimed at liberating the Tell Rifaat and Manbij areas from terrorists. He cited the expansion of the 30-kilometer security zone created in October 2019 after Operation Peace Spring as the main goal.
Local media reported that 50,000 Turkish troops and 5,000 fighters of the Ankara-controlled so-called Syrian Free Army are expected to participate in the operation. The operation, as noted, will allow Turkey to control the 600-kilometer section of the border with Syria and minimize terrorist threats emanating from the neighboring territory.
In particular, as noted by Hürriyet, areas seized six years ago by the Syrian "People's Self-Defense Forces" will be liberated and security corridors will be expanded. Thus, the areas on the west bank of the Euphrates will be completely cleared of pro-Kurdish forces, which Turkey considers an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). As a result of Turkey's earlier operations in northern Syria, a security zone was created between the cities of Azaz and Jerablus north of Aleppo, Afrin was occupied and the border areas east of the Euphrates were taken under control.
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Based on materials from TASS