Turkey claimed on Saturday that its army has “neutralized” tens of fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in days of clashes in northern Syria, despite the country’s agreement to two ceasefires in the area last October.
The Turkish defense ministry said on Saturday morning it had “neutralized” 24 members of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish armed group which makes up most of the SDF.
Ankara regards the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - a designated terrorist group fighting for Kurdish cultural and political rights in Turkey.
“An infiltration attempt by [the members of] the terrorist organization of the PKK/YPG to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere and security of the Operation Peace Spring region was prevented by our heroic commandos,” read a tweet by the defense ministry.