Turkish military kills 21 Kurdish militants in northern Syria, Iraq: Ministry

According to the Defense Ministry, Turkish army killed 21 Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq. Amid hostilities, President Erdoğan said that Kurdish militants in Syria would either lay down their weapons or "be buried."

Wednesday December 25 2024 11:59 pm

Reuters

The Turkish military killed 21 Kurdish militants in northern Syria and Iraq, the Defense Ministry said on Dec. 25.

In a statement, the ministry reported that 20 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Syrian Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) militants, who were preparing to launch an attack, were killed in northern Syria, while one militant was killed in northern Iraq.

"Our operations will continue effectively and resolutely," the ministry added.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States, began its armed insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

Turkey regards the YPG, the leading force within the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as an extension of the PKK and similarly classifies it as a terrorist group.

Following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the YPG must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria's future.

The operations on Dec. 25 come amid ongoing hostilities in northeastern Syria between Turkey-backed Syrian factions and the YPG.

Ankara routinely conducts cross-border airstrikes and military operations targeting the PKK, which maintains bases in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq.

Kurdish militia in Syria will be buried if they do not lay down arms, Erdoğan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on the same day that Kurdish militants in Syria will either lay down their weapons or "be buried", amid hostilities.

Following Assad's departure, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the Kurdish YPG militia must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria's future. The change in Syria's leadership has left the country's main Kurdish factions on the back foot.

"The separatist murderers will either bid farewell to their weapons, or they will be buried in Syrian lands along with their weapons," Erdoğan told lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament.

"We will eradicate the terrorist organization that is trying to weave a wall of blood between us and our Kurdish siblings," he added.

Ankara has repeatedly called on its NATO ally Washington and others to stop supporting the YPG.

In a Reuters interview last week, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time, saying they had helped battle Islamic State and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed with Turkey, a core demand from Ankara.

He denied any organizational ties with the PKK.

Erdoğan also said Turkey would soon open its consulate in Aleppo, and added Ankara expected an increase in traffic at its borders in the summer of next year, as some of the millions of Syrian migrants it hosts begin returning.