Turkey says land operation into Syria could start any time soon

Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey could launch a ground operation into Northern Syria any time soon.

“It could be tomorrow, next week, or any time soon,” Kalin said during a live broadcast with AHaber on Monday, Kronos reported.

Turkey discusses such operations with its allies and neighboring countries, however, there is no question of informing anyone in advance or getting their permission, Kalin said.

“Turkey does not get permission from anyone to address its own security concerns,” he said.

Turkey who accused Kurdish militants for an Istanbul bomb attack on Nov.13 that left six casualties, has launched airstrikes into Northern Syria and Northern Iraq, targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian affiliate People’s Protection Units (YPG).

While the Kurdish groups denied involvement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week said a land operation would follow when convenient.

Kalin said such operations could be carried out at any time and in different ways.

"Today, Syria would not have its territorial integrity, unless we carried out the three previous ground operations," Kalin said, in response to a question regarding Syrian administration’s reactions against Turkey’s possible offensive.

Turkey has carried out three large-scale operations into Northern Syria since 2016 against Kurdish YPG.

Syria opposes Turkey’s operations, condemning them as a violation of the country’s territorial integrity.

Turkey also frequently conducts military operations into Northern Iraq to combat PKK, an outlawed group that fights an insurgency on Turkish soil for Kurdish autonomous rights. PKK maintains its headquarters in Northern Iraq’s Qandil mountains.