Erdogan says Turkey plans military operation, east of Syria's Euphrates
President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will carry out an air and ground military operation east of the Euphrates River in Syria as soon as Saturday or Sunday.
In remarks on Saturday at the opening of his AK Party’s annual camp, Erdogan said Turkey aimed to “water the east of Euphrates with fountains of peace” and settle refugees there.
“We gave all warnings to our interlocutors regarding the east of Euphrates and we have acted with sufficient patience,” Erdogan said.
“We’ve made our preparations, we’ve completed our operation plans, given the necessary instructions,” he said, adding that Turkey would carry out air and ground actions and these could start “as soon as today or tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said they would “not hesitate to turn any unprovoked (Turkish) attack into an all-out war” to defend its region in northeast Syria.