ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey will end its latest aerial military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region in the summer, an advisor at the Turkish defense ministry said on Thursday.
Operation Claw-Lock was launched by Turkey on April 18, 2022 with the goal of targeting PKK positions in the Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas in northern Duhok province along the Turkish border.
“The lock in Claw-Lock will be closed this summer,” Zeki Akturk, Press and Public Relations Advisor at the Turkish defense ministry, told reporters on Thursday.
He added that “rapid operations” against the Kurdish group will continue in the Region.
Turkey’s Claw-Lock Operation is part of a series of military offensives that started in 2019 against the PKK in northern Duhok province to eradicate the group in its bases in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains. Turkish forces have built dozens of outposts within the Kurdistan Region’s borders during its operations.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Ankara is close to completing a zone that will “permanently resolve” the security issues along their border with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq by the summer.
Erdogan also called on everyone in the region to respect Ankara’s security strategy, “Otherwise, they will be the cause of the tensions that will arise,” he said.
The Turkish president is set to visit Baghdad on Monday, and he has stated that he may visit Erbil as well on his way back to Turkey.
Operation Claw-Lock was launched by Turkey on April 18, 2022 with the goal of targeting PKK positions in the Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas in northern Duhok province along the Turkish border.
“The lock in Claw-Lock will be closed this summer,” Zeki Akturk, Press and Public Relations Advisor at the Turkish defense ministry, told reporters on Thursday.
He added that “rapid operations” against the Kurdish group will continue in the Region.
Turkey’s Claw-Lock Operation is part of a series of military offensives that started in 2019 against the PKK in northern Duhok province to eradicate the group in its bases in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains. Turkish forces have built dozens of outposts within the Kurdistan Region’s borders during its operations.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Ankara is close to completing a zone that will “permanently resolve” the security issues along their border with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq by the summer.
Erdogan also called on everyone in the region to respect Ankara’s security strategy, “Otherwise, they will be the cause of the tensions that will arise,” he said.
The Turkish president is set to visit Baghdad on Monday, and he has stated that he may visit Erbil as well on his way back to Turkey.
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