Erdogan vows to defeat terrorism in Eid message

By Ilkay Guder

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to defeat terrorism in his Eid al-Adha message on Sunday.

In a televised message, Erdogan said Turkey had a “duty to defeat the Daesh terror group in Syria and render it unable to carry out activities in Turkey.” Last month, Ankara launched an operation to remove Daesh from Syria’s northern border region.

He added that the country was “determined to end the PKK plague” in southeast Turkey and said the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) behind the July 15 attempted coup and the PKK/PYD in Syria would face the same fate as the PKK in Turkey.

Turkey was stronger, more resolute and more dynamic than before coup attempt, Erdogan said.

“Those with malicious intentions must know that they will find a Turkey with an army of 570,000 and police forces of 260,000 and a nation of 79 million,” he said.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also gave an Eid message in which he pledged that traitors would not be able to damage Turkey’s unity.

“All dirty plots against Turkish unity are in vain,” he said. “No terror groups will be able to bring Turkey to its knees.”