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Turkey not getting enough support in anti-terror fight in Syria - official

Türkiye Materials 20 February 2018 12:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 20,

By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:

Countries that supported Turkey in the fight against Islamic State terrorist organization (ISIS) don’t support Ankara in its struggle against PYD/YPG terrorists in Syrian Afrin, Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omar Celik said on Feb. 20 according to Turkish media.

The EU states and some other countries don’t want to recognize the PYD/YPG terrorist threat, according to him.

There is an anti-Turkish propaganda alleging that the operation in Afrin is aimed against ethnic kurds, the minister noted.

“Turkey fights terrorists, not ethnic groups,” Celik said.

On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria.

Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that about 8,000—10,000 PYD/YPG terrorists are supposed to be hiding in Afrin, Syria.

Turkey began drawing its military to the Syrian border from the late June, 2017. The forces were being concentrated in Turkish Kilis province bordering the Syrian territory controlled by YPG/PYD.

On Aug. 24, 2016, Turkish Armed Forces, with the support of the Syrian opposition, launched the Euphrates Shield operation against the IS militants and liberated the city of Jarabulus as well as the city of Al-Bab in northern Syria.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu

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