Turkish parliament extends cross-border military operations mandate for Syria, Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey's parliament almost unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday to extend the mandate for cross-border military operations in both Iraq and Syria for another year.

With the exception of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), all of Turkey's major ruling and opposition parties voted in favour of the bill, reported the pro-government Daily Sabah.

The new mandate will expire on October 30, 2021, according to the news outlet.

Ankara has carried out scores of military operations within its borders and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that has fought Turkey for increased Kurdish rights for decades.

In June, Turkey launched a major ground and air offensive against the PKK. It ended ground operations on September 5, but has continued to conduct frequent airstrikes on villages near the Kurdistan Region’s border with Turkey. Airstrikes have killed eight Kurdistan Region civilians since June.

Turkey has also conducted military operations in Syria against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a major contingent of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Ankara considers the PKK a terrorist organization, and regards the YPG as the PKK's Syrian offshoot. The YPG denies the claim, saying the two groups are bound only by the ideological influence of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The PKK-Turkey conflict has claimed the lives of over 40,000 people, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Over 5,000 people have died since the collapse of a short-lived peace process between the PKK and Ankara in July 2015.