Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Tuesday that an imminent Turkish military operation could be conducted in northern Syria's Afrin to fight against the existing threat against Turkey.
The PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing the People's Protection Units (YPG) took control of Afrin earlier last year. The city is now considered one of the major strongholds of the PKK.
Speaking to private news channel NTV, Çavuşoğlu said Turkish military would enter Afrin if faced with an armed escalation regardless of the source of such threat. "Our target could be the Assad regime if they pose a threat against us. Currently, the main threat is coming from the PYD."
Çavuşoğlu said YPG is representing a small component of Kurds and even preventing the Kurdish population to return to their homeland in Syria.
PYD terrorists in Afrin have occasionally carried out cross-border attacks against the Turkish military, despite the presence of American and Russian representatives and military experts in the area.
Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ previously said any humanitarian or terror-related development in northern Syria directly affects Turkey's national security.
He added that the country will take all necessary measures to eliminate any threats that could emerge from that area, to establish a political solution and internal peace in Syria, and also to block the possibility of terror groups crossing into Turkey to carry out attacks in the country.
