ANKARA
Turkish security forces will destroy every terrorist camp in Iraq and Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.
Speaking at an opening ceremony of multiple projects in western Manisa province, Erdogan said Turkey remains "determined to eradicate terrorism from beyond its borders".
The president recalled Operation Euphrates Shield -- an anti-Daesh operation of the Free Syrian Army backed by Turkish military -- in northern Syria that cleared Daesh terrorists from Jarabulus and Al-Bab earlier this year, and also the ongoing military deployment in another Syrian city of Idlib.
“We will destroy every terror camp we identify in Iraq and Syria,” he said.
There is “nothing more important to us than the survival of our country and nation,” he said.
He said there were many places in Iraq and Syria being used as terror dens, adding that Turkey must destroy terrorists “in their nests” rather than taking action after they cross into Turkish territory.
"It is our fundamental right to hit terrorists wherever they are located," he said.
“For this, Turkey does not need to take permission from anyone.”
Dirty game
He also warned those who took sides with terrorists.
“Everyone who takes side with terrorists is a terrorist to us,” he said.
Later, speaking at a provincial meeting of ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, Erdogan said “those who try to give lessons on democracy and human rights are taking benefit from the blood of innocent people.
“We are sorry to see that the shattered bodies of the people killed in bombardments are just statistical figures in the eyes of western media.”
He said his country would bring an end to “this dirty game into which Turkey is being pulled.
“What those who try to trap Turkey by pulling it into the marsh of terrorist organizations do not understand is that… there is a known and an unknown side of everything on this geography [Middle East].
“They may have money, modern weapons, unlimited greed and their own plans. [But] they can only make their plans based on what they see,” Erdogan said, adding that Turkey had a long history in the region where it “has approached issues with dignity and insight”.
Erdogan added that millions of people in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya have paid the price of changes in the region with their own lives.
