A group of mountaineers from Bosnia-Herzegovina voiced support for Turkey's counterterrorism operation in northeast Syria, unfurling the Turkish fl
A group of mountaineers from Bosnia-Herzegovina voiced support for Turkey’s counterterrorism operation in northeast Syria, unfurling the Turkish flag on the summit of Mount Vlasic.
The mountaineers from several cities, including Sarajevo, Zenica and Doboj, organized the event to show support for Turkey in its effort to eliminate the terrorist elements along its borders, as well as to provide peace and stability in the region.
The group climbed to Paljenik, the highest summit of the mountain at an altitude of 943 meters, where they announced a message that they will always stand beside Turkey in its fight against terror.
The mountaineers also unfurled Bosnia-Herzegovina’s first flag, which was designed after the country gained independence.
Mount Vlasic and the Paljenic summit are among the most strategic places where Bosniak soldiers gained victory during the former Yugoslavian country’s devastating 1992-95 war, which became known as Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring, the third in a series of cross-border anti-terror operations in northern Syria targeting terrorists affiliated with Daesh and the PKK’s Syrian offshoot the People’s Protection Units (YPG), on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m.
The operation, conducted in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions, aims to establish a terror-free safe zone for Syrians return in the area east of the Euphrates River controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by YPG terrorists.
The PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Turkey has long decried the threat from terrorists east of the Euphrates in northern Syria, pledging military action to prevent the formation of a “terrorist corridor” there.
Since 2016, Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria have liberated the region from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, making it possible for nearly 400,000 Syrians who fled the violence to return home.