Nine trucks loaded with armored vehicles and one bus carrying military personnel had been sent to the border district of Akcakale, located in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, Turkey's state-owned Anadolu Agency said late on Saturday (October 5).
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says his country will carry out air and ground military operations in northeast Syria east of the Euphrates.
The convoy was sent to reinforce military units based on the Syrian border, Anadolu said.
The air and ground operation east of the Euphrates river in Syria could start at any time, Erdogan said early on Saturday after accusing Washington of not doing enough to expel Syrian Kurdish fighters from its border.
His announcement prompted a reaction from the militants. They have warned of an all-out war in response to Turkey’s imminent attack.
NATO allies Ankara and Washington agreed in August to set up a zone in northeast Syria along the border but Turkey has accused the United States, which helped the YPG defeat Daesh militants in Syria, of moving too slowly to create the zone. They are at odds over how far it should extend into Syria and who should control it.
Syria has time and again condemned both Turkey and the United States’ military presence in the country.