Erdogan Vows ‘Radical’ Steps to Eliminate Kurdish YPG Forces in Syria

Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)
Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)
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Erdogan Vows ‘Radical’ Steps to Eliminate Kurdish YPG Forces in Syria

Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)
Erdogan speaks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). (Turkish presidency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Saturday that his country will soon take “radical” steps to eliminate forces linked to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the military backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). in Syria.

Erdogan said Türkiye will show no tolerance for the YPG, which is an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated as a terrorist by Ankara.

The YPG occupies a third of Syria, he charged.

Turkish forces have recently expanded their attacks on SDF positions in northeast Syria amid ongoing clashes between the two sides on the frontline of Tishreen dam in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

During remarks at the eighth Ordinary Provincial Congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK) in the southern province of Mersin, Erdogan said his country has provided and will continue to provide all necessary support to the Syrian people.

“Our goal is to eradicate all terrorist organizations in Syria, either smoothly or by force,” he said.

The president stressed that his country is present in Syria and other regions of the world and is following developments closely, based on a strategic vision that seeks to achieve its interest.

Ankara supports New Syrian administration

Erdogan added that by eliminating terrorists in Syria, Türkiye would ensure its security and remove the obstacles that stand in the way of the territorial integrity of Syria, its political unity and internal peace.

“Türkiye cannot feel completely secure as long as there are separatist terrorists armed in Syria,” he declared.

Moreover, Erdogan said Ankara will not pressure any Syrian refugee to return back home.

Ankara is exerting efforts to provide support to the new administration in Damascus, and is therefore “determined not to leave our Syrian brothers alone in rebuilding state institutions and the country,” he remarked.

The Turkish government will provide all necessary facilitations for Syrians wishing to return to their country, he vowed.

Clashes in eastern Aleppo

Meanwhile, Turkish forces escalated their strikes on the strategic Tishreen dam and several areas in Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) in eastern Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that three civilians were killed and 14 others sustained various injuries.

This came following renewed strikes by Turkish drones on an anti-Türkiye protest near Tishreen dam in the Manbij countryside in eastern Aleppo.

Similarly, it noted, Turkish fighter jets attacked the vicinity of Qarh Qouzaq bridge in the Aleppo countryside.

Turkish fighter jets also attacked a school in Al-Jadah village and a house in Deikan village in the Ain Al-Arab countryside, the Observatory said, adding that no casualties were reported.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”