ANKARA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish military service is seeking to return to normal by June 1 to restart conscription and discharge after suspension as part of the measures to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday.
"Staff recruitment, appointment, and education in schools were postponed. We will launch them as of June 1. We are starting normalization work as of June 1," Akar told NTV broadcaster.
The recruitment of paid soldiers will restart as of June 20, the discharges of soldiers will begin as of May 31, and military service summons will resume on June 5, he said.
Turkish military on April 17 suspended the discharge and conscription of soldiers for one month over the COVID-19 concerns.
Although military activities were suspended, anti-terror operations continued as before, said the minister.
There has been no COVID-19 cases in the troops of Turkey's cross-border operations in Syria and Iraq, Akar noted.
Turkish security forces have long been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq where the group has hideouts.
Turkey also fights against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units in northern Syria, as Ankara sees it as the Syrian branch of the PKK. Enditem
