Turkey’s counterterrorism ops enable Syrian refugees to return home, says Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan evaluated the ongoing Operation Olive Branch and mosque attacks in Germany during a speech at the opening ceremony of the Kasımpaşa Tunnel in Istanbul on Saturday.

“3,000 Daesh terrorists were neutralized in Operation Euphrates Shield, and 100,000 refugees returned to their homes safely. Daesh has been eliminated from Syria yet weapons are still sent to this region using excuses,” Erdoğan said.

“The world has seen that Qandil is in charge of the terror organization in Syria. Our nation does not hold hostility against any country. We aim to protect the future and independence of our nation. The PYD, YPG and Daesh are terrorist organizations,” he added.

Turkey initiated Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 in Afrin to establish security and stability, eliminate terrorists of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh, and save locals from the terrorists’ oppression and cruelty.

“Within eight days, 394 terrorists were neutralized,” he added.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.

The president also commented on the attacks on mosques in Europe.

“The same things that are happening in Germany are also happening in Belgium. When we touch on these issues, they become uncomfortable. If a church here [in Turkey] was harmed and our police watched, what would the world say? The mosque attacks in Germany are unacceptable.” Erdoğan said.

Supporters of the PYD/PKK attacked five mosques run by Turkish-Muslim associations since last Friday when Turkey began a military operation in northwestern Syria's Afrin.

The assailants attacked mosques by stones and bottles filled with paint; they vandalized the buildings, wrote pro-PKK slogans and threatened to carry out further violence.