Turkey will destroy terror corridor near its border ‘no matter the cost,’ says Erdoğan

Turkey expects Syria’s Manbij to be purged of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists as soon as possible, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday.

“Turkey will never tolerate or allow for the formation of a terror corridor right next to its borders. No matter the cost, we will destroy this terror corridor,” he said at an election rally in Turkey’s Burdur.

Turkey has repeatedly voiced frustration over what it says is the slow implementation of a deal with Washington to pull PKK terrorists out of Manbij, a town in mainly Arab territory west of the Euphrates.

“Millions of Syrians will return to their homes when Manbij and east of the Euphrates River are purged of terror," he added.

A possible mission east of the Euphrates, which Turkey’s leadership has been suggesting for months, would follow two successful cross-border Turkish operations into Syria since 2016 – Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch – both meant to eradicate the presence of YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists near Turkey’s borders.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The YPG and PYD are its Syrian extensions.