ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian parliament on Monday condemned Turkey’s recent threats of launching a new military operation in northern Syria, stating that the aim of the “illegitimate” intervention was to revive “illusions” of a safe zone and create demographic change.
“The aim behind this occupation is to revive the illusions of the safe zone to carry out a new process of displacement and forced evacuation of the population from the area and to bring about a demographic change in it and create a new reality that threatens regional and international peace and security,” the statement from the Syrian People's Assembly read, adding that Turkey’s “malicious” policies were no secret to anyone.
In late May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara would soon launch a new military operation into northern Syria to create a 30 kilometer “safe zone” along its southern border. It is aimed to push back Kurdish fighters from the area.
Ahmet Davutoglu, former Turkish PM and leader of the Future Party on Sunday responded to claims made recently that Turkey has attempted to carry out demographic change in Syria, stating that such an occurrence was not in the best interest of Turkey, as most of those who were displaced in Syria are now refugees in Turkey.
Related: Residential settlements in Afrin pushing demographic change: Report
The parliament claimed that Turkey has been known to exploit humanitarian situations to achieve goals that contradict and violate resolutions from the United Nations (UN).
Russia, the US, and the UN, have all called on Turkey to refrain from embarking on military escalation in northern Syria.
The parliament’s statement affirmed Syria’s sovereignty and its right to defend itself from Turkey’s “illegitimate” operation, condemning the offensives that have caused the “killing of innocent and defenseless citizens and the destruction of their homes and properties.”
Syria’s foreign ministry released a statement earlier this month saying that the government condemned the “hostile” actions by Turkey, and its constant violations of Syrian sovereignty “which has claimed the lives of a number of innocent people.”
Turkey has launched two offensives against Kurdish fighters in Syria since 2018. It alleges that Syria’s main Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), are allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and viewed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Eleven years since the outbreak of civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, the conflict has killed at least 350,000 Syrians and displaced more than half of the pre-war population. According to the UNHCR, 6.6 million Syrians are refugees; mostly in neighboring countries including the Kurdistan Region.
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