Turkish security forces eliminated a member of the YPG's executive council in northern Syria's Ain al-Arab, a region also known as Kobani, in a special operation organized by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
According to information obtained from security sources, Erhan Arman, code-named "Berxwedan Muş," had been caught in 2012 when he was about to join the PKK. He later joined the organization in 2013 in the countryside of eastern Turkey's Muş following his release.
After carrying out armed activities in the terrorist organization's name and participating in many acts within the country, Arman then went on to Syria and worked on recruiting personnel in Ain al-Arab for the PKK's Syrian offshoot, the YPG.
He organized first-hand the illegal passage of PKK members and explosives to Turkey. Arman was brought to the organization's so-called Ain al-Arab canton executive as director in 2019.
It was learned that Arman, who was appointed as a tunnel and positioning officer in the region, was planning to defend the organization against possible operations by Turkey.
Turkey may imminently launch a new military operation against the YPG in northern Syria if it sees a necessity, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said last week.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Kalın said: "We don't have to reveal a timetable to anyone, but such an operation could be done at any time in the context of our assessment of our own security risks."
Asked about the possible new operation against terrorist groups in northern Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said last week that preparations are continuing and that "a sudden move would come," echoing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's warning that an operation will be launched unexpectedly.
The YPG controls large parts of northern Syria and is regarded by Washington as an important ally against Daesh despite its NATO ally Turkey's major security concerns and warnings.
Erdoğan has said that the plan for a new military operation in northern Syria will be on the table as long as the YPG continues to pose a security threat to Turkey.
In May, Erdoğan announced plans for a new military operation in Syria to drive away the YPG, an extension of the PKK terrorist group. The plans include resuming Turkish efforts to create a 30-kilometer (20-mile) safe zone along the border with Syria and enabling the voluntary return of Syrian refugees from Turkey.
Turkey has launched three major cross-border operations into Syria since 2016 and already controls some territories in the north. Turkish-backed operations in previous years have ousted the YPG and Daesh terrorists from the northwestern enclave of Afrin and a series of border towns further east. The successful operations to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents were Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
“A new operation will continue to be on our agenda as long as our national security concerns are not resolved,” Erdoğan said. “We want Russia and Iran to be on our side in our fight against terrorist organizations.”
Erdoğan has said that since the United States and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Turkey is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the YPG. In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone.
Turkey does not need anyone's permission to conduct military operations against terrorist groups in Syria, Çavuşoğlu also said.
"We exchanged ideas, but we never asked and we never ask permission for our military operations," the foreign minister said two days after a summit in Tehran at which both Russia and Iran urged against Turkey's proposed new military operation in northern Syria.
