Azernews.Az

By Rufiz Hafizoglu

Turkey's military operations in Syria against the “Islamic State” (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh) terrorist group and the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Units), as well as the Democratic Union Party (PYD, the Kurdish political party) resulted in activation of members of these organizations, as well as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the country.

For example, immediately after the start of the military operation ‘Shield of the Euphrates’ in the Turkish province of Sirnak, an attempt to assassinate the leader of the Turkish opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu took place, and the PKK has taken the responsibility for that.

It is worth noting that if previously the CHP criticized operations by Turkish Armed Forces against the PKK, after the incident, the party began to support military efforts of the country’s authorities against the terrorists.

In general, the results of the military operation ‘Shield of the Euphrates’ are successful: groups of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) with the support of the Turkish Armed Forces liberated more than 33 settlements from the IS in northern Syria near the city of Jarabulus on the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

According to the Turkish media, at present, more than 400 square kilometers on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river are controlled by the Free Syrian Army and the Turkish armed forces.

The Turkish armed forces and the Free Syrian Army aim at not only liberating Jarabulus city but also Syrian Manbij city controlled by YPG and PYD.

According to the Turkish media, the Turkish armed forces and the Free Syrian Army are attacking Manbij city as part of the "Shield of the Euphrates", and apparently the operation on Manbij city liberation will not be easy.

The Free Syrian Army has obtained information that YPG and PYD acquired chemical weapons, and there is a high probability that the weapons can be used against the Free Syrian Army and the Turkish armed forces.

The information was also confirmed by Zahir al-Sakit, former general of the Syrian army.

The information about using of chemical weapons by militants in Syria is not new.

The IS has already used chemical weapons against the Free Syrian Army.

Chemical weapons’ use by militants is a threat not only for Turkish forces in Syria, but also it can lead to a new refugee wave from Syria, which is one of the aims of IS militants.

The fact is that each new wave of refugees from Syria to Turkey creates new problems for Ankara.

Moreover, it is not only a humanitarian catastrophe for Syrian refugees; the main threat for Turkey is the entry of IS militants into Turkish territory as refugees.

Earlier, militants of IS and PYD have repeatedly entered Turkey as refugees and committed terror attacks in the country.

In order to prevent such a scenario, enhancing control at the Turkish-Syrian border within the “Shield of the Euphrates” operation will be a priority for Ankara.

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