Turkey will soon launch larger scale operations against terrorists east of Euphrates River in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday.

“Our preparations and plans [for an operation] are done, we will soon bring down the terror formation east of the Euphrates,” Erdoğan said.

According to the president, the Turkish military already started an intervention against the terrorists in the area.

Circles using terror groups as tools to reach their goals are trying to revive Daesh, Erdoğan said. “Neither people in the region nor the world believe in Daesh game.”

Turkey will never allow those who want to drag Syria into chaos by inciting the regime or reviving Daesh in the region, he added.

On Sunday, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) targeted People’s Protection Units (YPG) positions in Zor Magar area near the border town of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobani, with artillery shells. The YPG is the armed wing of the PKK terror group’s Syrian affiliate the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Almost all the territory in the east of the Euphrates comprising some one-third of the territory of Syria, except for the Assad regime-controlled area near Deir el-Zour and the Daesh-held area near the Iraqi border, is controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by the YPG.

The SDF also controls the districts of Manbij and Tabqah on the right bank of the river.

Manbij has been a major sticking point in relations between the U.S. and Turkey, which were strained over a number of issues including the U.S.’ support for the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which launched the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, and its leader Fetullah Gülen’s presence in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

Turkey considers the YPG’s presence on its border with Syria, with Manbij in particular, a grave threat to its national security. Manbij lies northeast of Aleppo and just south of the Turkish border.

Turkish troops and their allies the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have captured bordering Jarablous, al-Rai and al-Bab districts from the Daesh terrorist group through Operation Euphrates Shield launched in Aug. 2016. While Daesh terrorists were on retreat, the YPG also advanced to Manbij through a bridgehead and captured the town.

The Turkish military and the FSA also cleared the Afrin district from the YPG in Operation Olive Branch launched in Jan. 2018.

After Turkey and the U.S. agreed on a deal that focuses on the withdrawal of the YPG terrorist group from the city in order to stabilize the region and conduct joint patrols, the terror group has instead stepped up its presence and activities in the area.

The terrorist group has completed the construction of trenches and embankments in areas surrounding the entire city center as if it has no intention of leaving.