Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens new incursion into Syria
- The Turkish president wants to resume efforts to create a 30km safe zone along the southern border against threats from Islamic State and a Kurdish militia
- Erdogan also says he will no longer talk to Greece’s PM, accusing him of discouraging Washington from selling F-16 jets to Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Monday to launch a new military operation in Syria to secure Turkey’s southern border.
Speaking following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said the aim of the operation would be resume Turkish efforts to create a 30km (20 mile) safe zone along its border with Syria.
“We will soon take new steps regarding the incomplete portions of the project we started on the 30km deep safe zone we established along our southern border,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan did not provide further details but said the operation would begin after Turkey’s military, intelligence and security forces complete their preparations.
02:06
Villagers on front line of Syrian conflict remain stranded from home amid ongoing civil war
Turkish forces have launched three major incursions into northern Syria, taking control of areas along the border in a bid to secure its frontier from threats from the Islamic State group and Kurdish militia group, the People’s Protection Units, or YPG.