Turkey 'won't stop' Syria operation despite 'threats': Erdogan
Istanbul: Turkey will not stop its operation against Kurdish militants in northern Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday, dismissing what he called "threats" from other countries.
"Whatever some may say, we will not stop this step that we have taken," Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul. "Now there are threats coming from left and right, telling us to stop this," he added.
"We will not step back... We will continue this fight until all the terrorists go south of the 32-kilometre (20 mile) limit from our border that Mr Trump himself mentioned."
Turkey launched an operation on Wednesday against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria that it considers a "terrorist" off-shoot of Kurdish insurgents in its own territory.
It aims to establish a buffer zone to keep the YPG away from its border -- an idea that was first publicly mooted by US President Donald Trump at the start of the year.
However, Trump and other Western allies have heavily criticised this week's offensive by Turkey, since they had used the YPG as the key frontline force in the battle against the Islamic State group in recent years.
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Fake IAS officer among 5 held at Indo-Nepal border attempting to cross sides
Bahraich (UP) (PTI): Five persons, including a man posing as an IAS officer, were arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) at the India-Nepal Rupaideha border in Bahraich district while allegedly attempting to enter the neighbouring country in a vehicle that had a red-blue beacon and hooter, police said on Monday.
Circle Officer of Nanpara, Pahup Kumar Singh, told reporters that the incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Sunday when an Innova Crysta with a Uttar Pradesh registration plate and flashing beacon was stopped by SSB personnel at the border during routine checks.
During questioning, one of the occupants identified himself as Dharmendra and claimed to be an IAS officer posted at the Lucknow Secretariat.
However, the SSB, Rupaideha police and other security agencies conducted a detailed inquiry and found that none of them was an IAS officer, nor were they authorised to use a red-blue beacon, the officer said.
The vehicle was registered in Lucknow in the name of a firm, Priya Agencies, owned by the wife of the accused Dharmendra, he added.
The arrested persons were identified as Dharmendra Singh, Shubham Bajpai, Anmol Singh, Sachin Singh and Swapnal Sahay, all residents of Lucknow.
During interrogation, they admitted they were heading to casinos in Nepal to gamble.
Police recovered Rs 2.17 lakh in cash, six mobile phones, an electronic chip device and a power bank from their possession. A case has been registered against them under Section 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is underway, Singh said.
