ALEPPO, Syria — While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced from the central province of Konya Dec. 17 that his country was determined to launch a military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) east of the Euphrates River, factions affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) started to send fighters to the Syrian-Turkish border.
“We can start our operation against terrorists at any moment now,” he said, adding, “We have received a positive response from US President Donald Trump regarding the military operation we announced last week east of the Euphrates.”