ANKARA
Turkey’s anti-terror operation in northern Syria is leading the terrorist YPG/PKK to fall apart, with hundreds of terrorists deserting the group, security sources said on Thursday.
Nearly 600 terrorists who were forcefully recruited in the cities of Raqqa and al-Tabqah have fled the terror group, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Over 40 terrorists also surrendered to Turkish Armed Forces elements, it added.
As the Turkish operation pushes forward, most of the Arabs who had worked with the terror group east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria have withdrawn their support, the sources added.
Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.
Ankara wants to clear northern Syria east of the Euphrates River of the terrorist PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the YPG.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
*Writing by Sena Guler and Gozde Bayar
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