IANS | 17 Jan, 2024
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will continue
cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) until it is cleared from northern Iraq.
"Our operations in
this region will continue until we have secured every inch of the
mountains in northern Iraq, which are the source of terrorist acts,"
Erdogan said at a press conference late Tuesday after a cabinet meeting
in the capital Ankara.
A total of 114 targets were hit as part of
Turkey's air operations in Syria and Iraq, and a total of 78
"terrorists" were neutralised in the past five days, he said, referring
to the country's recent cross-border military campaign launched after
nine Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq by PKK militants on
January 12.
Erdogan said that the attempts to "strengthen" the PKK
by providing it with weapons, ammunition, training, and shelters have
gained momentum, but he did not specify who is supporting the group.
"Our
cross-border operations have also foiled plots aimed at dragging Turkey
into internal turmoil through a wave of irregular migration," the
President added.
The Turkish leader also said that Ankara would
take additional steps to fight terrorism in the coming months,
regardless of "who says what or what threats they make".
On
Tuesday, the Turkish Parliament had passed a joint declaration against
terrorism, stating "we declare to the whole world that Türkiye has the
strength to fight determinedly against all terrorist groups at home and
abroad".
"We expect Parliaments of other countries and
international organizations to take a clear, uncompromising stance
against terror acts targeting Türkiye," it said.
The Turkish
security forces have intensified cross-border operations against the PKK
in northern Iraq and against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection
Units (YPG) in northern Syria, after the killing of the nine Turkish
soldiers in northern Iraq.
The PKK militants often hide out in
northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Turkey, which sees the YPG
as the Syrian branch of the PKK group.
The PKK, listed as a
terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union, has
rebelled against the Ankara government for more than three decades.