Update: Syria to shoot down Turkish fighter jets if Afrin operation launched

Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Syrian regime is fully prepared to shoot down any Turkish fighter jets over its airspace, a senior official told reporters as he warned Ankara against any plans to launch an operation against the Kurdish-controlled city of Afrin.

"We warn that the Syrian air force has retaken its past capabilities and is fully prepared to destroy Turkish air targets in the sky of the Syrian Arab Republic," Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad told reporters, State-run SANA new agency reported on Thursday.

He stated that If Turkey begins "military acts in Afrin,” Damascus will consider it as an “aggressive act” against Syria’s state sovereignty. 

Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said his country has the right to protect itself. 

"Turkey has the right to take measures to protect its national security, whether it is threatened from Afrin or Manbij, by PKK, YPG or ISIS. There is no difference," Kalin said in a press conference Thursday.

“The Turkish army has the authority to take measures without specifying time, place or manner," he asserted, stressing that purpose of operations in Afrin is to “confront a terrorist group.” 

Afrin is the westernmost canton under the control of the self-styled Kurdish enclave in northern Syria established shortly after the start of the civil war in the country in 2011.

Turkey has said they will launch an operation against the Kurdish forces in Afrin held by the People's Protections Units (YPG).

“Afrin is special, and the northern and eastern region of the Syrian Arab Republic has always been Arab and Syrian Arab territory and will remain so,” the Syrian official stated.

Turkey has said that they will not allow a “terror corridor” on its southern borders with the Syrian Kurdistan, called Rojava. Ankara considers the YPG as an extension of the PKK, a named terrorist organization by Turkey, and the United States. YPG denies the accusations.

Earlier in the day, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that they will coordinate their military movements with Russia, a main backer of the Syrian regime.

Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Gen. Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan, head of Ankara’s intelligence agency (MIT), are to visit Russian on Thursday to discuss, among other topics, the situation in Syria, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Afrin has come under frequent Turkish bombardment, but recently the Turkish artillery has intensified in preparations for an expected operation.