Turkish Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army troops, initiated the Operation Olive Branch (OOB) in the city of Afrin on January 20, 2018 in order to ensure security and stability in Turkey’s southern border. PKK’s logistical supplies from northern Syria to its terrorist activities in Turkey, group’s hundreds of harassing attacks from Afrin into Turkish soil, and the protection of the territorial integrity of Syria could be said to precipitate the ground for military operation. The operation carried out in the northwestern part of Syria aims to create a safe zone with a depth of 20-30 km and a length of 130 km in the first stage and then to clean Afrin region from terrorist elements. By uniting the safe zone with the Operation Euphrates Shield (OES) region, it is expected that the barrier in front of the corridor the PKK wants to establish in Syria will grow.

In terms of military aspect, in the first ten days, OOB gave a much more conventional military operation image than a predominantly special forces operation like the OES. On the other hand, the nature of the threat is similar to OES and it is expected that conventional and asymmetric methods will be encountered.

In the light of the above-mentioned points, we are looking forward to welcoming you to our panel where the objectives, scope, diplomatic and military dimension of the Olive Branch Operation will be discussed.

Simultaneous translation will be provided.