Ankara mulls permanent military camp in northern Syria

The Turkish military is considering setting up a permanent military camp near Mare in northern Syria with an aim to maintain security in the newly-liberated areas from Daesh under Operation Euphrates Shield as well as training the moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces, according to military sources.

Sources indicate that the military camp would be built in the region upon invitation from the local authorities while the presence of the camp will abide by international laws.

The planned military camp is expected to be built and operated in a similar fashion to Turkey's Bashiqa camp, which is located some 30 kilometers northeast of Mosul in northern Iraq.

Sources claimed the camp is expected to maintain its operations in northern Syria until local forces become strong enough to maintain security in the liberated regions and all the terrorist elements that pose security threats to Turkish borders are eliminated.

Turkey set up the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq in March 2015 upon the invitation of the Iraqi Central Government. Currently, there are some 150 soldiers and up to 25 tanks stationed in Bashiqa, protecting Turkish servicemen training Iraqi volunteers to fight Daesh. So far, more than 3000 volunteers have received training at the Bashiqa camp and these volunteers, known as the "Ninova Guards" are playing an important role in the ongoing operations to liberate Mosul.