Turkey began its military operation in April 2022 to secure its border with northern Iraq.
17:44•Updated 18:23
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Saturday that Turkey will soon end its military operations in northern Iraq and Syria.
– We will very soon complete the closure of the operational area in northern Iraq. We will also complete the missing parts of the safe zone on our southern border against Syria, Erdoğan said.
Turkey began its military operation in April 2022 to secure its border with northern Iraq. Turkey blamed Kurdish separatists for the attacks on its territory.
According to the president, Kurdish forces are now unable to operate within Turkey’s borders.
According to Erdoğan, the PKK organization, or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey and the EU, had been “completely trapped” in both Iraq and Syria.
Sources: AFP, Reuters, STT
The story was updated on July 13 at 18:23: Information about the start of the military operation was clarified, Erdoğan’s comments were added.