Turkey intends to control more Syrian lands – Future Syrian Party
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Thamer al-Shammari, chairman of the Future Syria Party in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria, said on Saturday that Turkey aims at controlling more Syrian villages under the pretext of protecting its national security.
On June 1, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his threats of launching a military operation on northern Syria, and specified his targets in the two Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat, which include many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
“We are taking a new step in establishing a 30km security zone along our southern border,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish “safe zone” is an area of 30-35 km (19-22 miles) deep into Syrian territory that Turkey started establishing in 2019 to settle Syrian refugees in an area along its border with Syria, as well as to keep it free from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it regards as terrorists.
“Turkey is trying to exploit the world and big powers’ preoccupation with Russia-Ukraine war to achieve its expansionist interests,” al-Shammari told North Press.
The Turkish goal of creating a state of chaos in areas of northeastern Syria is to convince the guarantor states in Syrian [Russia and the US] with the importance of controlling more Syrian lands under the name of the “safe zone”, according to al-Shammari.
He called on the international community to take a firm stance towards the Turkish threats and to curb Turkey.
In addition, he demanded them to stop violations committed by Turkey and its backed opposition factions against the residents of Syria’s north.
The Future Syria Party was founded on March 27, 2018. Ibrahim al-Qaftan was elected as the president of the party and Hevrin Khalaf was elected as secretary-general.
In 2019, Hevrin Khalaf was assassinated on M4 highway between Raqqa and Hasakah by Ahrar al-Sharqiya, a Turkish-backed armed faction.