Turkey officials said that its military operation in Syria has ended. The Euphrates Shield campaign, which started in northern Syria in August 2016, has successfully ended.
The seven-month military campaign of Turkey Armed Forces in Syria has ended, informed prime minister Binali Yildirim. There are no details about the possible moves of Turkey in Syria until the Rex Tillerson’s visit to Turkey. The Secretary of State will discuss with the prime minister whether Turkish troops would now leave Syria.
The Euphrates Shield was launched by Turkey last August, its aim was the pushing IS militants away from its border. That time Turkish tanks and aircraft crossed the border to push back jihadists from a 100km stretch of the border.
Operation Euphrates Shield is completed
Another important aim of the military campaign The Euphrates Shield was the preventing the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG, a terrorist organisation and an extension of the PKK under Turkish law) from gaining more territory in northern Syria. The protection of this border zone should help Ankara to stop the possible insurgency being waged by the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in south-eastern Turkey.
“Operation Euphrates Shield has been successful and is finished. Any operation following this one will have a different name,”
Mr Yildirim said after Wednesday’s meeting of the country’s security council.
The army and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have captured several towns, including Jarablus, finally moving south to the strategic town of Al-Bab.
