President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted that the reason Turkish troops are inside Syria is to oust the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. He said “We entered [Syria] to end the rule of the tyrant al-Assad who terrorizes with state terror. We didn’t enter for any other reason,” according to the Hurriyet daily news. Turkish troops entered Syria in August, launching operation Euphrates Shield. Ground troops and air power were deployed to northern parts of the country, with the stated goal of retaking areas held by ISIS. The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus, who have accused Ankara of violating Syria’s territorial integrity. Press TV reports: He (Erdogan) went on to claim that Ankara has no territorial claims on Syrian soil and is only seeking “justice” in the country. “Why did we enter? We do not have an eye on Syrian soil. The issue is to provide lands to their real owners. That is to say we are there for the establishment of justice.” He also said that by “his estimation” around 1 million people had been killed in Syria since the conflict broke out. The statement was made as the UN puts the death toll at [...]
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