President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Speaking at the two-day Turkish Defense Summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkey would launch an operation targeting the east of the Euphrates river in Syria in order to “liberate it” from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), in a few days.
“It is time to realize our decision to wipe out terror groups in the east of Euphrates,” Erdoğan said on Wednesday in capital Ankara.
“Turkey's target has never been U.S. soldiers with the operation in the east of the Euphrates, but rather members of terror group. We are determined to make that region livable and peaceful. This step will allow for the path to a political solution to be opened and for healthier cooperation,” he added.
Ankara and Washington have long been at odds over Syria policy, where the United States has backed the YPG.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at the Turkish Defense Industry Summit at the Beştepe People's Convention and Culture Center in Ankara, said that an operation east of Syria's Euphrates river would be launched “in a few days.'
Turkey to launch military op in Syria ‘in a few days,’ says Erdoğan
Manbij
Erdoğan said delaying tactics continue to be applied in Manbij, referring to the agreement between Turkey and the U.S. that focuses on the withdrawal of PKK/YPG terrorists from the city to stabilize the region.
“Although approximately 80-85 percent of Manbij belongs to Arabs, there are still terrorist groups there,” he added.
Ankara has recently repeatedly voiced frustration about what it says are delays in the implementation of a deal with the United States to clear the YPG from the town of Manbij, just west of the Euphrates.
In November, Turkish and U.S. troops began joint patrols in northern Syria.
The U.S. and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are after Daesh’s seven-ton gold reserves in Syria as they prepare to seize the terror group’s stronghold in eastern Syria, according to a former senior Daesh member. Speaking exclusively to Yeni Şafak daily, former Daesh finance responsible Abu Zeid al-Ambari revealed the true intentions of the U.S. and PKK as they prepare to attack the final Daesh stronghold in Syria.Abu Zeid also pointed that Daesh has 17 tons of silver in the besieged city of Hajin in Deir Ezzor, noting that Daesh had 13 tons of gold in its coffers in mid-2016. “Only seven people knew where the gold was hidden; two were killed, one went missing; and now the U.S. and PKK are trying to seize the gold,” said Abu Zeid.‘PKK follows the same policy in east Syria as Israel does in Palestine’Daesh coinage “Upon seizing Mosul and Raqqa, the terror group’s so-called finance ministry created a ‘gold pool.’ Abu Bakir [al-Baghdadi] and Abu Ali gave the orders. They laid the infrastructure to funnel all the gold from Daesh-occupied cities to this pool. A special delegation was created for this purpose, and in 2015 they began to press gold and silver coins and put them into circulation,” revealed Abu Zeid. “The terror group secured a large income from oil, cereal and trade activities, turning it into gold. Large amounts of gold were brought from Mosul, Talafar, Deir Ezzor, Aleppo and Raqqa to this ‘gold pool.’ Between mid-2015 and 2016, Daesh had 2.5 tons of gold in its coffers, which enabled it to press its own money,” he continued. ‘Turkish op in the east of the Euphrates is PKK’s worst nightmare’A bribe of three tons of gold “Some of the terror group’s henchmen, who fled the cities of Mosul and Raqqa after they fell, bribed the Peshmerga, U.S. soldiers and intelligence services in exchange for allowing them to be smuggled out of the region. The wheels of this cycle of bribery are still running to this day. In 2017, the Peshmerga received gold from senior Daesh terrorist Abdulsamad Sejeri, who they promised they’d give an ID and passport so he can be smuggled out of Iraq. Instead, they ended up executing him after seizing large amounts of gold from the man who had been tasked with overseeing the finances of Daesh.”Daesh has lost almost all the territory in Iraq and Syria where it once declared a caliphate, including its two main cities of Mosul and Raqqa last year.US seeks to spy on Turkey from observation posts along Syrian borderBuried in the desert Former Daesh terrorist Abu Zeid revealed the fate of the gold amassed by the terror group. “After the fall of Raqqa, Daesh transferred the gold in its procession to the city of al-Mayadeen. Later, after the latter also fell, they moved their reserves in Syria to the Badiyat al-Sham desert. The same was also done in Iraq where the gold was hidden in the desert region of Tikrit where no force was able to enter. For now the U.S. and PKK hope to find the gold reserves in the Hajeen region of Deir Ezzor, however, the terror group had taken all the gold and silver from urban centers under its control,” concluded Abu Zeid.The U.S.-led coalition is supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is predominantly made up of PKK/YPG terrorists, in assaulting the last Daesh territory in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
‘US, PKK are after Daesh’s gold reserves in Syria’
The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.
The president said it was clear that the purpose of U.S. observation points in Syria were not to protect Turkey country from terrorists but to protect terrorists from Turkey.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Nov. 21 that the United States was setting up observation posts to avert terror threats.
“We are going to track any threat that we can spot going up into Turkey. That means we will be talking to Turkey’s military across the border,” Mattis said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Daesh terrorists will be eliminated from the areas they control in Syria within a month."We've done a very, very major job on ISIS. There are very few of 'em left in that area of the world," Trump said, referring to Daesh. "Within another 30 days, there won't be any of them left."Trump made the comments as he signed into law the Iraq and Syria Genocide Accountability Bill, which seeks to hold Daesh accountable for the crimes it committed against religious and ethnic communities in Iraq and Syria and provide assistance to the persecuted groups.U.S.-backed forces are currently fighting Daesh in the last remaining pocket it controls in eastern Syria.Trump says 'very productive' talks with ChinaTrump says US military will build border wall if Congress does not act
Trump vows to rid Syria of Daesh in one month
Defense industry projects
Turkey is pursuing 650 defense industry projects worth a total of $60 billion dollars, Erdoğan announced.
“The Turkish private sector, which is now making armed unmanned aerial vehicles, will go further and produce more powerful ones,” Erdoğan said.
The president vowed to improve Turkey's indigenous combat helicopter, the T129 ATAK, saying efforts to develop an indigenous warplane were ongoing.
Erdoğan said the indigenous battle tank Altay, which has been further developed with new technologies, will be available to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF).
The Syrian regime has imprisoned thousands of women and children, who are subjected to systematic torture and assault. Some of the women who survived these inhumane Syrian prisons were hosted in Turkey’s Istanbul as part of an event organized by 10 nongovernmental organizations, including the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).Two of these women who use the pseudonyms Zehra and Juri recounted the details of the horrors they faced in an interview with Yeni Şafak daily.Inmates prefer death over prisonZehra said she was attacked by regime troops while she was taking necessities to a family in need. “I spent one year in prison. I was subjected to every kind of cruelty and torture. They electrocuted me after tying my hands behind my back. They took pleasure in rape and violence. It got so bad I wanted to die,” she added.US-led coalition defends strike on hospital in SyriaAbandoned by their own families“When I got out of the prison, my troubles didn’t end. I was ashamed because of what happened to me. It is especially difficult for Syrian women. They threatened our lives so that we would stay away [from our families and friends]. The hardest part was being rejected by our families and loved ones,” Zehra said.Regime prisons are a “real hell” “I was arrested in Lattakia and taken to an air force intelligence questioning center. The two months I spent there were the longest two months of my life. I was subjected to the worst abuse and torture. It was a real hell. I love photography and have been taking photos for 17 years. Like everyone else, I too had a normal life. Then all of this happened. I managed to come here, but many of my family members are still in Syria. I can only talk to them on the phone and am constantly worried about them,” Juri said.Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed or displaced in the conflict, mainly by regime airstrikes targeting opposition-held areas. ‘Turkish op in the east of the Euphrates is PKK’s worst nightmare’Turkey hosts over 3.6 mln Syrians under 'temporary protection' status: Interior MinisterIn Turkey, disabled Syrian girl's dreams come true
Syrian regime prisons are a ‘real hell’ and inmates prefer death, say survivors
Turkey’s first indigenous multi-purpose helicopter
The president also announced Turkey’s first indigenous multi-purpose helicopter as the “T625 GÖKBEY,” which is a twin engine, 6-ton class helicopter developed in response to the growing market demand for higher mission flexibility in this class. The aircraft incorporates several new technology features to provide the highest levels of safety and operational benefits for operators.
Erdoğan said Turkey was working to produce indigenous long-range missiles, and that the project’s test-fires had been completed.
Exporting domestically-produced products
Also speaking at the same event, Defense Industry head İsmail Demir said an official visit to a "Far East" country was planned for Monday in order to finalize the last step of exporting the domestically produced ATAK helicopter.
The “T129 ATAK" Multirole Combat Helicopter has been optimized for specific hot and high performance requirements. It is a tandem seat, twin-engine, NATO-interoperable attack helicopter optimized for attack, armed reconnaissance, precision strike and deep strike missions, at day and night regardless of weather conditions.
The U.S.-led coalition against Daesh on Monday defended striking a hospital in eastern Syria.The Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said in a press release that Daesh terrorists used Hajin Hospital in Deir ez-Zor province as a platform to engage partner forces on Sunday."By these actions, ISIS caused the hospital to lose its protected status afforded by the Law of Armed Conflict by using a facility otherwise protected under the Geneva Conventions," said the coalition, using an alternate name for Daesh.Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, CJTF-OIR Commanding General, said the terrorist organization "has no regard for human life”."As we close in on them, they are getting more and more desperate and are hiding behind the safety of mosques, hospitals and other protected sites," said Roberson.In a briefing, Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said using hospitals is "unacceptable", which he said was a "standard tactic" used by the Daesh terror group.Manning said U.S. forces came under fire from the hospital. He had yet to comment on the casualties from the hospital strike.In October, several mosques were targeted by the coalition in Hajin, which left dozens of residents dead.
US-led coalition defends strike on hospital in Syria
Demir added that the indigenous Bora missile had successfully passed tests with pinpoint accuracy.
The Bora is a long range surface-to-surface missile.
The summit, which aims to discuss issues such as the sector's needs, new projects and human resources, is being held at the Presidential Congress and Culture Center in the capital Ankara on Dec. 12-13.
Resolute stance against terror
Turkey's determination in the fight against terror continues in Syria's Idlib, Manbij and the east of Euphrates in the same manner, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday.
"We will never allow a terror corridor on our borders," Akar said.