Turkey's armed forces and fighters of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) have completed preparations and are awaiting Ankara's order to begin a new cross-border operation in northern Syria, the Sabah newspaper reported on Thursday.
The Turkish military has taken up combat positions around the towns of Tall Rifat and Manbij and is firing artillery at night. According to the newspaper, the targets of the military operation to be conducted simultaneously in these cities have already been determined.
Sabah notes that during the operation it is planned to take Tabqa Dam, the largest dam on the Euphrates River in Syria. This will solve the problems of water and electricity supply in Syrian areas, where Ankara previously conducted Operation Euphrates Shield.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that Ankara is launching a new military operation in the neighboring territory and will first "clear the Tall Rifat
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.
According to local media reports, the operation will allow Turkey to control a 600-kilometer stretch of the border with Syria and minimize terrorist threats emanating from the neighboring territory. Ankara names the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) banned in Turkey and the so-called Syrian National Self-Defense Forces as the main threats to national security. According to military sources, about 50 thousand Turkish soldiers and fighters of Syrian armed opposition supported by Ankara will be involved in the operation.
As a result of Turkey's earlier operations in northern Syria, a security zone was created between the cities of Azaz and Jarabulus north of Aleppo, Afrin was occupied, and the border areas east of the Euphrates River were taken under control.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS