Terror not allowed on Turkish borders: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara will not allow any manner of terrorist activities on or close to its borders.

Erdogan made the remarks while addressing thousands of his supporters during the “Unity, Solidarity, and Brotherhood” rally held in Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep province on Sunday.

"We will make any kind of contribution to the work to clear Daesh from Syria," he said. "For the issue of the PYD (Democratic Union Party) terror group in Syria, we have just the same determination," he added referring to the main pro-Kurdish party active in northern Syria and its People's Protection Units (YPG) forces.

He added, Turkey is "ready and determined” to purge the region of terrorist groups and that “our operations against terrorist organizations will continue until the end."

Erdogan stressed that battling terror is the reason behind Turkey’s presence in the Syrian town of Jarablus. “If necessary, we will not hesitate to take responsibility in other regions." 

His visit to Gaziantep comes after the city was hit by a deadly bombing attack last weekend which claimed the lives of some 55 people at an outdoor wedding.   

Earlier in the day, around 40 civilians were killed and some 75 more injured after Turkish artillery fire and airstrikes targeted a village in Syria’s Aleppo province.   

Meanwhile, Turkish forces engaged PKK militants in the southeastern province of Hakkari near the border with Iraq.  

On August 24, Turkish special forces, tanks and jets backed by planes from the US-led coalition launched their first coordinated offensive in Syria. The Damascus government condemned the intervention as a breach of its sovereignty.

Calling for the death penalty, again

Elsewhere in his remarks in Gaziantep, Erdogan once again repeated his call for parliamentary deliberations on the reintroduction of the death penalty.

“They are your lawmakers and your legislative branch. I conveyed your demand [to bring back death penalty] to them and I repeat it again today. They should discuss this and come to a decision. When this comes to me, I tell you my thoughts, I would approve it,” Erdogan told the crowd.

The Ankara government has been brandishing the idea of reintroducing the death penalty ever since a coup was unsuccessfully attempted on July 15. The reintroduction is meant to provide for the execution of putschists. Turkey had abandoned the practice of capital punishment in 2004 in order to qualify for potential accession to the European Union (EU), a prospect that has grown increasingly unlikely amid bitter arguments between Ankara and Brussels.

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