World

Turkey's Land Forces to Carry Out 'Necessary Activities' in Syria on Sunday - PM

Turkish Prime Minsiter Binali Yildrim stated that nearly all targets had been destroyed with air strikes as part of the military operation in Syria's Afrin.
Sputnik

Turkey's Prime Minister said in a statement that land forces are expected to carry out "necessary operations" in Syria's Afrin on Sunday depending on developments in the region.

"Today our air force hit most of the designated targets. Tomorrow, depending on the circumstances, out ground forces will carry out the necessary work. They will move together with the Free Syria Army," Yildirim told reporters.

On January 20, Yildirim said that Turkish warplanes have bombed YPG, PYD targets in the Syrian city of Afrin. Responding to reporters' questions hours after Turkish armed forces kicked-off an operation against Kurdish forces, Yildirim said the military had destroyed nearly all targets it identified in the region with air strikes.

READ MORE: WATCH the Beginning of Turkey's Military Operation in Northern Syria

"Out of 113 designated targets of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Kurdish Syrian terrorist group, 108 have been destroyed as of 18:30 [15:30 GMT]. All the killed and wounded people, who have been sent to hospitals, are members of terrorist groups," the statement of the Turkish General Staff read.

The Syrian government has denounced the operation as a violation of the country's sovereignty, denying claims by Ankara that it has informed Damascus of this offensive.

"The Syrian Arab Republic decisively condemns Turkish aggression against the town of Afrin, which is an inseparable part of Syria," the statement said, as quoted by the SANA news agency.

READ MORE: Damascus Resolutely Condemns Turkish Military Operation in Afrin

Turkey has been threatening to launch an operation in Afrin since last week after the US announced it was going to start training a border security force composed of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), affiliated with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considered as a terrorist group.

Discuss