Turkish army

The Turkish Army (TSK) on Jan. 18 ordered its troops on the Syrian border in southern Turkey to increase security measures to the "highest level" ahead of a possible military operation into Afrin, Hurriyet reported.

The Turkish Army (TSK) on Jan. 18 ordered its troops on the Syrian border in southern Turkey to increase security measures to the “highest level” ahead of a possible military operation into Afrin.

The Turkish army will appoint more than 40,000 new staff to compensate for those fired after the 2016 coup attempt, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet quoted FOCUS quoting.

The announced number of 42,938 people includes 20,595 officers and private individuals to whom a contract of employment will be proposed.

Some 75,000 Syrians have returned to lands liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) after operations led by the Turkish army, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Dec. 15.

Top soldiers from Turkey, the United States and Iraq will come together in Turkey on Dec. 14 to discuss regional security matters at a three-way meeting, the Turkish army announced late Dec. 11.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Nov. 23 that the Turkish army was not the army of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) nor any foreign organization.

Syria's on site situation and Turkish army's plans for an offensive against the city of Afrin in the north will be on the agenda for Turkey's and Russia's presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin at their Sochi meeting today, Russian and Turkish media reports.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the Turkish army’s deployment near Afrin province in northern Syria, controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), is part of defense measures against threats to Turkey.

Turkey held a security meeting on Sept. 27 at the helm of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as tensions rise in the region over an Iraqi Kurdish referendum for independence.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hinted at supporting the parliamentary motion of a one-year mandate authorizing the deployment of the Turkish army abroad, "if it will be about counter-terrorism," while the Kurdish issue-focused People's Democratic Party (HDP) is against the motion.