Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar was joined by the commanders of Turkey’s land, air, and naval forces in a visit to Yuksekova, Hakkari province Saturday evening.
Turkish forces have pushed 26-27 kilometres into the Kurdistan Region in an operation against the PKK – an armed group fighting for the rights of Kurds in Turkey and considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
“The terrorists who pose a threat to Turkey have been eliminated and we will continue to eliminate them, credit to the operations of Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and operations in northern Iraq,” Akar said in a speech.
Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch were two operations in northern Syria. The purpose of Euphrates Shield in 2016 was to remove ISIS threats from the borders with Turkey and prevent Kurds from expanding control west of the Euphrates River. Olive Branch, earlier this year, was an operation against Kurdish forces in Afrin.
Ankara considers the Kurdish forces in Rojava, northern Syria to be branches of the PKK, a charge the Kurds deny.
Turkey’s goal in its current operation in the Kurdistan Region is the PKK headquarters in the Qandil Mountains.
“Our operations against terrorists in northern Iraq will continue,” Akar vowed.
Turkish jets frequently carry out airstrikes against alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region. Some civilians have been killed in the strikes.
On Friday, Turkish media broadcast images of Turkish forces in Barmiza, a Kurdish village in the Bradost region.
Baghdad has condemned the incursion and violation of its territory.
Erbil has called on the PKK to leave the region and a group of lawmakers want the regional parliament to convene a special session to condemn Turkey’s offensive.
The PKK has vowed to defend the region.
“We will never accept the occupation of Southern Kurdistan by the Turkish state. We will not allow the Turkish state to feel safe on Kurdish soil,” Bager Erdal, a commander in the HPG (PKK’s armed wing), told ANF last month.
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