By Esra Tekin and Utku Simsek
ISTANBUL / ANKARA (AA) – Turkish security forces neutralized a total of 48 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria in the past week, said the country’s National Defense Ministry on Thursday.
With the 48 terrorists neutralized in the past week, “the total number of terrorists neutralized in northern Iraq and Syria since Jan. 1 has reached 2,205,” Rear Adm. Zeki Akturk, the ministry’s spokesman, told a weekly news conference in the capital Ankara.
Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants, and the elderly. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot attacks in nearby Türkiye.
In northern Syria, YPG/PKK terrorists seek to threaten the Turkish border while trying to harass and attack local Syrians and Turkish troops promoting stability in a region once dominated by terrorist groups, due to a power vacuum in conflict-torn Syria.
- Border security measures
Akturk further highlighted that 149 individuals attempting illegal border crossings were captured last week.
Additionally, 1,443 individuals were prevented from crossing.
Since the beginning of this year, authorities have captured 12,610 individuals attempting illegal crossings and prevented 87,755 from crossing.
- Procurement of Eurofighter Phytoon Jets
On the procurement of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, Turkish security sources said that approval for the sale of the jets has already been granted to Türkiye by the consortium member countries.
Germany has also approved the assignment of a Temporary Sales Authority for the jet, which will help accelerate the procurement process.
The Eurofighters are produced by Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK. For a sale to go forward, all the countries must agree.
On whether a new ground operation would be conducted in northern Syria following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement, the sources said that it is Türkiye’s right to conduct operations or military actions by international law and the right of legitimate self-defense for the security of the country and its borders.
“We have done what was necessary in the past, and we will continue to do so in the future,” the sources added.
On the claims that the US forces may lease military bases in the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus, sources said that Ankara is closely monitoring “any developments on the island that could disrupt the balance and pose a threat to the security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
“In the face of any attempt to establish foreign military bases on the island, which would be contrary to international law, we continue to take the necessary military and political measures to ensure the security of the TRNC and protect its rights and interests,” the sources added.
- Decades-long dispute
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on sovereign equality and equal international status.