President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lauded the progress of the ongoing Operation Olive Branch while addressing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's provincial chairs in Ankara on Friday.
“We will continue the operation with a new strategic maneuver once we siege the Afrin city center and cut the terrorists’ external contact. We will launch a new strategic maneuver once we siege the Afrin city center and cut the terrorists’ external contacts. This summer will bring the heat both for terror groups and their supporters,” he said.
Additionally, he stated that once Afrin was liberated from terrorists Turkey would do the same for the region to the east of Euphrates.
"Turkey expects the next part of the Afrin operation to proceed faster because the strategic hills in the region are now largely cleared of terrorists. The operation has liberated an area of 415 square kilometers from YPG/PKK-Daesh, and has neutralized 1,873 terrorists," he added.
“We display our determination to clear our southern borders of terror organizations to the world with each passing day. We have done all we could do to give our 3,5 million Syrian brothers and sisters, who we host in our country, a shelter in Turkey. We see that the attacks that have been continuing in Syria have reached our lands. During Operation Euphrates Shield, 2000 square-kilometers of land were cleared of terrorists. With Euphrates Shield, Jarabulus and al-Bab were cleared of Daesh and PYD terrorists. One hundred and forty thousand people living here returned to their homelands. It was us (Turkey) who made it possible,” Erdoğan said.
Operation Olive Branch was initiated on Jan. 20 in Afrin to establish security and stability, eliminate terrorists of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh, and save locals from the terrorists’ oppression and cruelty.
"Our presence only disturbs terrorists and terrorist supporters. If we did not distinguish between civilians and terrorists, the Afrin operation would have finished long ago," Erdoğan said.
The Turkish military has said it is putting the "utmost importance" on not harming any civilians.
