SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Turkey extends Syria, Iraq operations by another two years
Istanbul, Oct 17 (AFP) Oct 17, 2023
Turkey's parliament on Tuesday extended the military's authorisation to launch cross-border operations in neighbouring Syria and Iraq by two more years.

They were first approved in 2013 to support the international campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group, and has since been renewed annually.

In 2021, it was renewed for the first time for two years, giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a longer window in which to pursue campaigns against Kurdish militias in the restive region.

"It's essential to Turkey's national security to take necessary measures in line with the rights arising from international law against all kinds of risks, threats and actions that may pose a danger to Turkey's national security," the motion signed by Erdogan says.

It also says Turkey would welcome the deployment of foreign troops on its soil with the ultimate goal of fighting terror groups as per circumstances set by the president.

That clause drew strong criticism from the main opposition CHP party which has campaigned for "no foreign boots" on Turkish soil.

"As a nationalist, I don't want any foreign troops to set foot on Turkish soil," the party's leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said last week.

CHP lawmakers voted against the motion on Tuesday.

Turkey has intensified its cross-border air raids against Kurdish targets in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq in retaliation for the October 1 bombing in Ankara. That injured two policemen and was claimed by a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey, is considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkish officials said the two assailants who died in the Ankara attack came from Syria.

Turkey's operation in Syria primarily targeted oil and other energy facilities controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

The group comprises an integral part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- the Kurds' de facto army in the area -- that spearheaded the battle to dislodge Islamic State group jihadists from the region in 2019.

Ankara considers the YPG a terror group with links to the PKK.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
SPHEREx completes first full sky infrared map of the cosmos
CoDICE instrument returns first-light particle data for IMAP mission
Top 5 High Volatility Games For 2026 Chase The Biggest Jackpots Today

24/7 Energy News Coverage
The Quantum Age will be Powered by Fusion
Physicists map axion production paths inside deuterium tritium fusion reactors
Hybrid excitons speed ultrafast energy transfer at 2D organic interface

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
SDA expands Tracking Layer satellite awards and related missile defense contracts
Space Systems Command activates System Delta 80 for assured space access
Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions to provide SAR reconnaissance data to German military

24/7 News Coverage
Philosopher argues AI consciousness may remain unknowable
Climate driven model explores Neanderthal and modern human overlap in Iberia
Economic losses from natural disasters down by a third in 2025: Swiss Re



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.