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Erdogan vows Turkey will crush 'terror army' in northern Syria

15 January 2018 12:45 (UTC +04:00)

Turkish military will soon start an operation to clear northern Syria's Afrin and Manbij of terrorists, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, APA reported citing Daily Sabah.

"The Turkish Armed Forces will take care of the issues at Afrin and Manbij, the preparations are complete. The operation could start any moment," Erdogan warned, adding that the military operation will continue until not a single terrorist is left at Turkish borders.

The president said operations in other regions will follow after that.

Erdogan also slammed the U.S. over its plans to form a 30,000-strong army based on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by the PKK terror group's Syrian affiliates the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed-wing People's Protection Units (YPG).

"Now America confessed to forming a terrorist army along our borders. It is our duty to choke this terrorist army before it is born," Erdogan said. "Trust in Turkey if we are your strategic allies. If soldiers are needed in Raqqa or Manbij, we can send one or two brigades. Act with Turkey. What you are doing is wrong; you'll disgrace yourselves in front of your strategic partner."

The president warned the U.S. that the terrorist-dominated army would betray it in the end.

"These 30,000 terrorists [armed by the U.S.] will be the first to point their weapons at American soldiers when they run into trouble. It's up to the U.S. to decide if it wants a future with these murderers, but we won't allow this or anything that puts our national security at risk," Erdogan said.

Ankara has long criticized Washington over its partnership with the PYD and the YPG in fight against Daesh, saying that the U.S. should not use one terror group to fight another terror group.

The U.S.-led international coalition against Daesh will establish a 30,000-strong new border security force with the SDF -- the U.S.-backed group that is largely controlled and manned by the PKK/PYD terrorist organization in Syria -- a U.S. military official said Sunday.

"The coalition is working jointly with the SDF to establish and train the new Syrian Border Security Force (BSF)," said Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led coalition, officially known as Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).

"Currently, there are approximately 230 individuals training in the BSF's inaugural class, with the goal of a final force size of approximately 30,000," he added.