Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R, Front) is accompanied by Turkish Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar (L, Front) as he visits a military command center in Hatay, Turkey, on Jan. 25, 2018. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday visited and inspected Turkish military command center in southern Hatay province, as the "Operation Olive Branch" in Syria's Afrin entered its sixth day. (Xinhua/Turkish Presidential Palace)
ANKARA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday visited and inspected Turkish military command center in southern Hatay province, as the "Operation Olive Branch" in Syria's Afrin entered its sixth day.
According to state-run Anadolu Agency, Erdogan addressed to soldiers at the base, reiterating that the operation would continue until targets are achieved.
He also repeated Turkey was not eyeing another country's lands, and Afrin would be handed over to its original owners soon after clearing of terrorists, the report said.
Erdogan was accompanied by Turkish National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, as well as several high-ranking military officials.
Turkish forces on Jan. 20 launched "Operation Olive Branch" in Syria's Afrin to fight the Kurdish militia, targeting the People's Protection Units (YPG) elements in the Kurdish enclave with Free Syrian Army fighters through airstrikes and land forces.
YPG is the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), a group in northern Syria that Ankara has deemed a "terror group" for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.
