The Turkish Armed Forces are "determined" to block the efforts of terror groups such as the PKK/YPG to destabilize the region by using strategic infrastructures like Syria’s Tishrin Dam, Defense Ministry sources said on Thursday.
On the latest situation in post-Assad Syria and the terrorist group PKK/YPG's use of innocent civilians as human shields around the dam, the sources told reporters at a weekly news conference: “The Turkish Armed Forces believe in the importance of global cooperation and international solidarity against terrorism."
The sources also stressed that Türkiye expects the international community to recognize terrorist groups such as the PKK/YPG as the terrorist organizations they are and to cooperate more effectively in the fight against terrorism.
They added that PKK/YPG terrorists' use of civilians as human shields around Syria's Tishrin Dam as well as sending terror groups to the area are violations of human rights.
"The use of civilians as human shields by terrorist groups for their own interests is not only an inhumane approach, but also an act that shows their desperation and moral bankruptcy.”
They added: “Developments in the region are of great importance for both Syria's internal security and Türkiye's border security.”
On Syria’s territorial integrity and its people's quest for a peaceful solution, they said that if terror groups refuse to lay down their arms, the Turkish Armed Forces are determined to continue its cross-border operations to quell this threat.
"This determination will be maintained until all terrorist elements threatening peace in the region are eliminated in order to put an end to the activities of terrorist organizations within the framework of international law and the principle of the right to self-defense of the United Nations Charter," the sources added.
Counter-terrorism operations
At the press conference, Rear Adm. Zeki Akturk, the ministry’s spokesman, said operations continue uninterruptedly against all kinds of threats and dangers targeting Türkiye's survival, especially terrorist groups such as the PKK, its Syrian branch the YPG, and ISIS (Daesh).
Akturk said 94 terrorists were neutralized in the last week, including in northern Iraq and Syria, both near the Turkish border, by Turkish Armed Forces operations. He added that the number of terrorists neutralized in both 2024 and the first week of 2025 has reached 3,164.
Türkiye will never allow any fait accompli in region
Reiterating that Türkiye welcomes the new process in neighboring Syria – which last month ousted the decades-long Baath regime – Akturk stated that Türkiye will continue its support, with added strength, for the establishment of permanent security and stability in the region in close cooperation with Syria's new administration
Türkiye will continue preparations to strengthen Syria's defense and security capacity and will never allow any terrorist formation or fait accompli in the region, he added.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants, and the elderly.
The YPG, the PKK’s Syrian branch, has long sought to build a “terrorist corridor” in northern Syria, next to the Turkish border, also oppressing local populations. Türkiye has deployed troops and worked with local allies to defeat that plot.
*Writing by Serdar Dincel
