Turkey's top security body hinted Thursday at a new military operation on the country's southern border following recent statements from Turkish officials and clashes with PKK terrorists.
"Current and future military operations being conducted on Turkey’s southern borders do not target the territorial integrity of its neighbors, but stem from national security needs and will contribute to their security as well," the National Security Council (MGK) said in a statement.
In a three-hour meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and attended by relevant ministers and commanders, operations and investigations against terrorist groups like the PKK/YPG, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and Daesh were discussed. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
The MGK called on countries harboring terrorist groups and violating international law to drop this position and pay attention to Ankara's security concerns, highlighting that Turkey fulfills its obligations in international organizations and alliances with the spirit of an ally and in accordance with the principle of pacta sunt servanda, meaning agreements must be kept.
On Monday, President Erdoğan said Turkey would take steps to complete the remainder of a 30-kilometer (18-mile) safe zone along its southern border.
Turkey borders Syria and Iraq to its south, and has worked to eliminate existing terrorist bases and prevent new ones that would threaten its national security and the safety of locals across its borders.
Ankara has launched successive operations against the PKK in northern Iraq since 2020, most recently Operation Claw-Lock in April to target PKK hideouts in Iraq's Metina region. It was preceded by operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle, which were launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in the Turkish territory.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched three successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of contiguous land controlled by the YPG/PKK and enable the peaceful settlement of residents, namely Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.