Ankara vows full support for FSA in Syria

Ankara vows full support for FSA in Syria
Ankara has vowed to support the Free Syrian Army (FSA) with regards to the Turkey-backed opposition’s efforts to clear their own lands in northern Syria of both jihadists and Syrian Kurdish forces. 

“Those lands in northern Syria are the lands of FSA’s people. These people are on the defensive for their own land; they see Turkey’s support as very crucial. We give them this support and we will continue to give support, too,” said Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isık on Sept. 21.

Isık said that their aim was for the FSA to clear land belonging to its people from ISIL and also the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara says are terrorist offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“Everyone should live in their own region,” Isık said. 

Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24, with its own troops backing the FSA with the aim of ridding northern Syria, with which Turkey has a long border, of ISIS, as well as the PYD and YPG.

Turkey helped liberate Syria’s Jarablus and al-Ra’i from ISIS within the scope of this operation. 

On Sept. 19, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said al-Bab was the next target within the scope of the anti-ISIS operation that Turkey launched around one month ago.

Al-Bab lies around 30 kilometers away from the Elbeyli district of Turkey’s Kilis province. 

Responding to a question with regards to a report that Turkey would deploy its own combatant infantries of the Turkish Land Forces in Syria, Isık said Turkey would not deploy its own infantry in Syria but would use the Ankara-backed Syrian opposition fighters. 

“Our current planning is that we will conduct the operation with fighters of the FSA. Thus, we do not plan to join this operation with our own infantries,” Isık said. 

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