Turkey renews mandate for military operations in Syria, Iraq

Ankara approved on Wednesday a mandate to extend its troop presence in Syria and Iraq by another year.

1 min read

03 October, 2018

Turkey extends mandate that allows its military to intervene in Iraq and Syria [AFP]

Turkey's parliament has voted on Wednesday to extend by another year a mandate that allows the military to intervene in Iraq and Syria when faced with national security threats.

The mandate allows Turkey to send troops over its southern border to battle Kurdish rebels, Islamic State group militants and other groups that Turkey views as terrorists.

The vote comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey could take steps to create "safe zones" across northern Syria, including in areas held by Kurdish fighters who are allied with the United States.

Turkey has previously used the mandate, which it has renewed every year since 2014, for cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq and to clear IS militants and Syrian Kurdish militia from border areas inside Syria.

Syria has been ravaged since 2011 by a complex civil war, that has implicated many foreign powers and claimed more than 350,000 lives to date.