Turkey's National Security Council convened on Monday to review the latest regional and international developments. The top item in the meeting was the YPG fighters' terror activities with the aim of combining Kurdish cantons, which PYD has controlled across northern Syria.
The meeting has mainly focused on Ankara's possible responses to the outlawed PKK's offshoot Syrian Democratic Party's terror activities to strengthen its self-proclaimed autonomy.
The PYD's armed wing YPG has been battling to ensure a firm control over an area of 261 square kilometers from the Tel Abyad city to Afrin, a town in the Aleppo city area. Popular Protection Units, or YPG, is the armed wing of PYD. The armed group, which has emerged nearly three years ago, is believed to have 10,000 to 15,000 fighters.
The full control of Tel Abyad is vital for the PYD's ambition to connect predominantly Kurdish non-contiguous zones of territory it holds in northern Syrian. Mohammed Salih, the the chair of PYD, is planning to connect the region between Kobani and al-Jazira by uniting the three Kurdish cantons.
YPG fighters have been reportedly conducting ethnic cleansing campaing targetting Syrian Arabs and Turkmens by driving them out of their towns near Tel Abyad. The armed wing of PYD has intented to settle Kurds in these areas to expand the Kurdish self-rule authonomy in Syria.
Another item, which was thoroughly discussed during the meeting, was a military plan of establishing a buffer zone, which is 33 kilometers in width and 100 kilometers in length, on the other side of the Turkish-Syrian border in a response to increasing threats posed by ISIL militia in the areas which is near the country's border with Syria.
The meeting, which was chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, took nearly four hours in the Presidential Palace on the outskirts of the capital, Ankara. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel, the country's master spy Hakan Fidan and deputy prime ministers.
After the meeting, the top security board has expressed its concern over the terror activities targeting civilians and the PYD-linked militia's campaign that aims to change the demographic make-up of northern Syria.
In the statement, the MGK has drawn attention to the international community's failure to give a strong response to ongoing violations of human rights in the region. The statement also said that Turkey is determined to continue its efforts to heal the wounds of Syrian refugees, who found a shelter in its territory.
According to the statement, key officials also declared their commitment to carry on struggle against those, who are linked to the parallel state.
The Army's chief was due to give a briefing over the imminent wave of refugees after the PYD hands over the control of Tel Abyad city, as part of its ambition to expand its religious autonomy along the Syrian border.
