ANKARA, January 12. /TASS/. The Turkish Armed Forces have conducted a military exercise in the Hatay province bordering the Syrian region of Idlib, the Turkish news agency Anadolu said on Saturday.
Turkish military detachments have been deployed to reinforce the border area in Hatay’s Yayladagi region. Later, tank exercises were held in that area.
Turkey is sending more armored vehicles to the border with Syria, the agency added.
On December 12, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to launch a military campaign in Syria to the east of the Euphrates River against Kurdish units of the Self-Defense Forces and the Democratic Union Party. Ankara views them as Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) outlawed in Turkey.
Earlier, Turkey conducted two military operations in Syria - Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch. As a result, a buffer zone was set up between the two border towns of Azaz and Jarablus and the Afrin region inhabited by Kurds was seized.
