Erdogan says will destroy US-backed Syria ‘terror army’

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday threatened to destroy a planned US-backed 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria, describing it as an “army of terror”. Turkey fears that the mooted new force will be comprised of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, whom Ankara accuses of being terrorists and have been a constant bone of contention in Turkey-US ties. The new upsurge of tensions between Ankara and Washington also comes as Erdogan has repeatedly threatened that Turkey could launch a cross-border operation to oust the YPG from the Kurdish-held town of Afrin in northern Syria. “America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border. What we have to do is nip this terror army in the bud,” Erdogan said in a televised speech outside Ankara.