Türkiye’s defence ministry has denied reports claiming that Turkish troops had withdrawn from military posts in northern Syria near the Turkish border.
“Reports claiming that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have withdrawn from some areas of the Peace Spring region are not true. The TSK continues its activities in the region in coordination with the Syrian government,” sources from the ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry sources also warned against what they described as deliberate disinformation and urged the public to rely only on official statements.
In northern Syria, Türkiye has carried out a series of successful anti-terror operations since 2016, including Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019), to prevent the establishment of a terror corridor and ensure the peaceful settlement of residents.
Operation Peace Spring began in October 2019 to root out PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria.
Türkiye foresaw a safe zone of 30 kilometres, stretching from the Turkish-Syrian border to the M4 motorway that runs parallel to the border inside Syria.
The US agreed to pull its troops out of northern Syria in advance of the Turkish deployment despite having armed YPG terrorists in the past in their fight against Daesh.
The YPG is the Syrian branch of the terror group PKK.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, the YPG terrorists attempted to exploit regional instability to create a “terror corridor” along the border with Türkiye.
