Syria-Turkey border cleared of IS, Turkish PM saysSeptember 5, 2016 - 10:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's PM has said Syrian rebels backed by its military have driven out "all terrorist organisations" from a strip of Syrian land bordering Turkey, BBC News reports. Monitors said the presence of so-called Islamic State (IS) on the border had been ended. Turkey also describes Kurdish groups as terrorists. The advance cuts off IS supply lines it used to import fighters and weapons. Separately, Syrian state forces recaptured parts of Aleppo lost to rebels last month. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim made the announcement about Ankara's military successes in a televised speech on Sunday, September 4. As well as IS, Turkey considers the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish group, to be a terrorist group. The YPG, which is backed by the US-led coalition, had been gaining territory in the north of Syria. Yildirim said Turkey would never allow the formation of an artificial state in the north of Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "rebels and Islamist factions backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes" had taken several villages on the border between Turkey and Syria "after IS withdrew from them, ending IS's presence on the border". Photo: AFP Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenian delegation participating in NATO PA session The delegation is headed by Andranik Kocharyan, the chairman of the standing committee on defense and security matters. Schengen visa cost won’t change for Armenia – diplomat The increase in the cost of a Schengen visa will not apply to citizens of Armenia, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said. Yeremyan Projects opens state-of-the-art dairy production plant Yeremyan Projects officially launched the Yeremyan Products state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Yerevan on May 24. Armenian PM’s helicopter makes emergency landing in Vanadzor The helicopter transporting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an emergency landing in Vanadzor. |