Turkey is expanding its operation in Syria

Abstract:

On 19th September 2016 the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the end of the first stage of the Turkish intervention in Syria (Operation Euphrates Shield) and the beginning of another one. The operation was launched on 24th August 2016 with Turkey capturing the border town of Jarabulus and then a strip of land approximately 100 kilometres long and ten to twenty kilometres wide. A relatively small number of Turkish troops are taking part in the operation - several hundred soldiers, supported by tanks, artillery and the air force, and certain units of the Free Syrian Army which constitute the main ground force in the intervention.

The second stage of the operation announced by Erdogan will consist in expanding the zone controlled by the Turkish army and the Syrian forces supporting Turkey by a factor of five and in occupying new areas to the south.

ESO: Background information: Turkey joins the fray: What the Turkish invasion means for the Syrian civil wa http://www.europeansources.info/record/turkey-joins-the-fray-what-the-turkish-invasion-means-for-the-syrian-civil-war/

ESO: Background information: Turkey intervenes in Syria under the umbrella of Russia http://www.europeansources.info/record/turkey-intervenes-in-syria-under-the-umbrella-of-russia/

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