Defense Ministry briefs military attaches on Turkish op in Syria with 1 day left for pause to resume

With only one day left for the 120-hour pause to resume in Turkey's Operation Peace Spring to clear northern Syria from terrorists for a safe zone, the National Defense Ministry said it had briefed dozens of military attaches in Ankara on the current situation in Syria.

In a tweet, the ministry said it had invited 77 attaches from 63 countries to inform them about Syria and Turkey's anti-terror operation.

Meanwhile, in its daily brief, the Presidential Communications Directorate said YPG/PKK terrorists had made 36 violations in the north of Syria since Oct. 17, the starting date of the deadline, ignoring the agreement between Turkish and U.S. officials.

The directorate also said that, to this date AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) and Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent) have supplied 600 food parcels, 35,000 kilograms of flour, 22,300 loaves of bread, 5,579 units of other food items, 2442 units of bottled water, 2,699 units of other drinks, 605 hygiene sets, 840 blankets and 1000 pieces of toys for children to civilians in the Operation Peace Spring area.

Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate the PKK's Syrian offshoot, the People's Protection Units (YPG) from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey's borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria's territorial integrity.

The operation aims to establish a terror-free safe zone for Syrians return in the area east of the Euphrates River controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by YPG terrorists. It is the third in a series of cross-border anti-terror operations in northern Syria targeting terrorists affiliated with Daesh and the PKK's Syrian offshoot the People's Protection Units (YPG), and was launched on October 9.

The PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Turkey has long decried the threat from terrorists east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, pledging military action to prevent the formation of a "terrorist corridor" there.

Since 2016, Turkey's Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria have liberated the region from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, making it possible for nearly 400,000 Syrians who fled the violence to return home.