Turkey's Security Council Proposes Extension of State of Emergency

Turkey's National Security Council proposed on Wednesday to extend the state of emergency that had been introduced following the failed July 15 state coup.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — "In order to ensure effective protection of rights and freedoms of our citizens, democracy and the principles of the state governed by the rule of law, it was decided to propose an extension of the state of emergency," the council said in a statement following a meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

According to the statement, the Council backed continuation of the Euphrates Shield operation conducted by the Turkish army in Syria's north and proposed no-fly zone in the region.

On August 24, the Euphrates Shield operation was launched by the Turkish army with support of US-led coalition aircraft to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area of the Islamic State jihadist group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries. Syrian Kurds and Damascus accused Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity.