Turkey has begun a military offensive in territory held by Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria to establish a safe zone to “help refugees return home,” while continuing to fight the ISIS terrorist group, the spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told U.S. national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien.
“The safe zone aims to clear terrorist elements from Turkey’s border within the framework of Syria’s territorial integrity and to help refugees return home and that the fight against DAESH [ISIS] will continue with determination,” Ibrahim Kalin told O'Brien in a phone call, according to a statement released by the presidency of the Republic of Turkey on Oct. 9.
