Turkey "Airstrikes on Kurdish Armed Groups, Ground Troops Deployed for Sweep Operation"

471 Kurdish Armed Group Bases Bombed
Middle East Tensions Rise... Russia Says "Turkey Must Exercise Restraint"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Turkish military announced that it conducted airstrikes for three days targeting key facilities of Kurdish armed groups across Syria. As the Turkish military declared plans to deploy ground forces for a large-scale sweep operation, military tensions in the Middle East are escalating.

On the 23rd (local time), the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated in a press release, "From the 20th until yesterday, we struck 471 targets related to Kurdish armed groups in northern Syria and northern Iraq, neutralizing 254 individuals." The Turkish military identified Kurdish armed groups as responsible for the bomb attack in Istanbul, the country's largest city, on the 13th, which resulted in 6 deaths and over 80 injuries, and launched retaliatory airstrikes.

The Turkish military continued retaliatory airstrikes by targeting major strongholds of Kurdish armed groups such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD). On the 21st, several rockets, presumed to be mortar shells, fell in Karkamı?, a border town in Gaziantep Province, Turkey, causing numerous casualties.

President Erdo?an issued a stern warning, stating he would dispatch ground forces for a large-scale sweep operation. In a national address, he said, "The operations conducted from the air are only the beginning, and to prevent further attacks on us in border areas, I will order ground assaults," emphasizing, "The timing of the ground force deployment will be chosen at the most convenient time for us." He added, "The concrete tunnels terrorists use for safety will soon become their graves."

As the Turkish military is expected to launch a large-scale military operation and military tensions rise across the Middle East, Russia has called for restraint. This is interpreted as concern over the possibility that Syria, which Russia supports militarily, as well as the Iraq region, could become embroiled in military conflict.

Alexander Lavrentiev, Russia's special envoy for Syria, said in an interview with local media on the same day, "We are having very specific talks with Turkey's partners, persuading them not to launch ground operations." He continued, "If ground operations begin, tensions could seriously escalate not only in northeastern Syria but throughout the Middle East, which is unacceptable," emphasizing, "We only hope Turkey listens to these voices and finds alternative options."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.