The campaign to root out the YPG/PKK terrorist group moves to the next stage for Türkiye, which repeatedly implied a cross-border operation into Syria is imminent. Already boasting accomplishments against the terrorist group holed up in Syria’s north through successive operations, Türkiye will now aim for strategic targets to weaken the terrorist group, from power grids to concrete production plants.
After the last Cabinet meeting of 2022, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the country would “close the gaps in its 30-kilometer (18.64-mile) deep security line, taking new steps to completely eliminate terrorist threats coming from Syria.”
"We will enter a new phase of struggle that will destroy the entire infrastructure and resources of the terrorist group, which it receives strength from, as well as its armed capacity," Erdoğan said last December.
One of the targets are oil refineries and similar facilities, which finance the terrorist group in northern Syria. Türkiye also plans strikes on internet infrastructure in a bid to cripple terrorists’ access to the internet it uses to spread black propaganda against Türkiye and other communication infrastructure will also be among targets. In electricity infrastructure, power lines connected to terrorists camps will be destroyed.
Another target include concrete plants the terrorist groups use for raw materials to build their shelters, particularly lengthy tunnels they hide out in. The tunnels are also used for YPG/PKK’s other activities, from smuggling people, drugs and money.
Turkish authorities plan efficient airstrikes and missile attacks on the terrorist group in the coming days. This year’s operations will be shaped by precision strikes against senior cadres of the terrorist group, a campaign Türkiye has long been committed to, with the assistance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), intelligence in the field and technical intelligence.
The first possible target of a ground operation into areas controlled by YPG/PKK will likely be Tal Rifaat, which was occupied by terrorists in February 2016 and is a strategic location. Tal Rifaat is located some 18 kilometers from the Turkish-Syrian border and its control is vital for securing the areas liberated from terrorists by Türkiye’s previous operations in Syria’s north: Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch.
Türkiye is expected to take critical steps this year against terrorism from beyond its borders, despite opposition from some countries.
