Erdogan ‘hopes’ Afrin is liberated ‘by this evening’

March 14, 2018

Turkey’s president said on Wednesday he hopes the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin would be liberated from terrorists “by this evening.”
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during the 45th Mukhtars Meeting at Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on February 8, 2018. Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s president said on Wednesday he hopes the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin would be liberated from terrorists “by this evening.”

The route in eastern Afrin terrorists use to enter and exit will be closed soon, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a gathering of village and neighborhood heads at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from the region of Afrin, near Turkey’s southern border.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria’s territorial integrity, it said.

The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and that “utmost care” is being taken to avoid harming civilians.

Source: AA

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