Alwaght- Syrian army's troops are fully prepared to respond intensely to any possible Turkish offensive, the General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces said amid President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s renewed threats of a new military operation in northern Syria.
“In the wake of an upsurge in attacks by Turkish military forces on Syrian territories over the past two days and shelling on different neighborhoods and a number of [Syrian] army positions, we reiterate that our valiant army is ready to confront any possible aggression by the Turkish regime and its allied militants,” Syria’s official news agency SANA cited an unnamed Syrian military source as saying in a statement.
Last week, Erdogan said Ankara's plan for a new military offensive in northeast Syria against members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) will remain on the agenda until security concerns are addressed.
Back on July 19, the Turkish president earned a rebuke for his push for the offensive from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, whose country has been helping Syria in in its anti-terror campaign, in a bilateral meeting.
Ayatollah Khamenei told Erdogan that any Turkish offensive on Syria would be “detrimental” for the Syria, Turkey itself and the entire region, calling for the issue to be resolved through dialog between Ankara, Damascus, Moscow and Tehran.
Moscow has previously called on Ankara to “refrain” from an attack.
Erdogan on May 23 signaled a new Turkish cross-border operation in northern Syria, and said Ankara aims to create 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) wide safe zone along Turkey’s border with Syria.
He did not provide further details but said the operation would be launched as soon as military, intelligence and security forces have completed their preparations
Turkey has deployed forces in Syria in violation of the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push YPG fighters away from border areas.
Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials have said Damascus will respond through all legitimate means available to Turkey's ongoing ground offensive.
