Turkey’s Parliament Extends By One Year Permission to Use Troops in Syria, Iraq

This comes amid Turkey's announcement that it would launch a military operation on the border with Syria to oust Kurdish militants and establish a "safe zone" to accommodate millions of Syrian refugees in the area.

The Turkish parliament also extended for one more year its permission to use the Turkish Armed Forces in Iraq and Syria.

The mandate to use the Turkish Armed Forces in Iraq and Syria now runs until 30 October 2020.

The Turkish parliament in October 2014 gave permission for the use of the national Armed Forces abroad. The mandate was valid for one year, after which it was further extended until 2018.

A Turkish military vehicle returns after a joint U.S.-Turkey patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Turkey, September 8, 2019

© REUTERS / Murad Sezer

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara might begin a military operation in Syria within the coming days to clear Kurdish militants from the Syrian border and create a security zone to accommodate Syrian refugees in the area. The US, which supports the Kurdish People's Protection Units seen by Turkey as terrorists, responded by saying that it would never endorse Ankara's decision and would withdraw its troops from northern Syria.