ANKARA, December 26. /TASS/. Turkey will take additional measures to close the 30-kilometer gap on the border with Syria where terrorism threats are coming from, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
"To eliminate the threat of terrorism coming from Syria we will take new measures to close the 30-kilometer security zone," he said.
Earlier, Erdogan announced Turkey’s plans to launch a land operation in northern Syria.
According to Turkish media, Turkey’s new operation will allow it to gain control of a 600-kilometer section of the border with Syria and minimize terrorist threats coming from the neighboring country. Ankara sees the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and its Syrian arm, People’s Defense Units, as a major threat to its national security. According to military sources, around 50,000 Turkish soldiers and Turkey-backed Syrian armed opposition fighters will be involved.
As a result of Turkey’s operation in Syria since 2015, a security zone between the cities of Azaz and Jerablus north of Aleppo has been established, Afrin has been occupied and border areas east of the Euphrates were taken under control.