Turkish President vows crackdown on PKK, ISIS amid plans for Syria’s future
"Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates -- which threaten the survival of Syria -- must be eradicated," he told journalists.
Dec. 20, 2024
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on board his plane while returning from Cairo to Ankara, stated that Turkey will partake in building Syria's new government.
"Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates -- which threaten the survival of Syria -- must be eradicated," he told journalists.
Turkey views the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF or locally known as Hêzên Sûriya Demokratîk) as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) which is considered a terror organization by major Western powers and Turkey.
However, the US continues to support the SDF as it sees the Kurdish group as a key and organized group containing and combatting the threat of ISIS.
Erdogan, who was in Egypt to attend the summit of eight developing nations, told journalists on Friday, during his return flight to Turkey that in the new Syria, there are no groups or organizations that “will continue to work with terrorist organizations in the upcoming period.”
He added that the PKK and its affiliates are running out of time, and terrorist organizations like ISIS, PKK, and YPG will be “crushed in the shortest time possible.”
Regarding Syria's unity, Erdogan stated, "Under the pretext of ISIS, PKK's wings are being protected and defended. This view brought Syria to the brink of division, but now the situation has changed. We will eliminate all terrorist threats, then take another step to further develop our commercial relations with Iraq and Syria, as a new phase has begun."
