The Turkish leader has also suggested that the country’s latest ground military operation in the region involving northern Iraq, called Claw-Lock, is drawing to a close. Speaking to members of the military academy on Saturday, Erdogan said that the operation launched in April 2022 was successful; the Kurdish fighters are incapable of acting inside our borders.
He said,
“We will close the lock very soon in the Claw Operation Zone in northern Iraq,”.
Nevertheless, the Turkish leader failed to indicate when the operation would draw to a close, which makes the future state of affairs in northern Iraq and particularly in Syria unknown.
Turkey is known to have been waging a war against the PKK/KRG, which Turkey, the US, and the EU regard as a ‘terrorist’ organization. The biosocial conflict that started in 1984 has caused the loss of over 40000 lives.
More recently, Turkey has therefore endeavored to create a safe zone along its southern borders with particular operations in Syria. As to the specific situation, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler astutely stated Turkey’s plans to establish the security zone 30-40 kilometers deep into the territories of Iraq and Syria to reduce the threat of terrorist attacks, ‘We will fight till the last terrorist is neutralized’ he said.
Despite the ceasefire, Erdogan stated Turkey’s intention to “finalize the missing points of the security belt along the Turkish Syrian borders. ” It is yet to be seen how the Turkey’s withdrawal from Northern Iraq and its consequences will be.
