NEW YORK
Turkey told the United Nations on Friday that it had started conducting air strikes on Daesh militant group in exercise of its rights of self-defense as defined by the Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which allows countries to engage in self-defense against an armed attack.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General and U.N. Security Council, seen by Anadolu Agency, Turkey said the Syrian government was neither capable nor willing to eliminate the threat posed by Daesh to Turkey from Syrian territory.
Turkey has been facing Syria-originated threats since the Syrian conflict started in March 2011 and 158 Turkish nationals have died from attacks coming from Syria since then, the letter said.
It said these threats took on a new dimension with the emergence of Daesh, and that Syria had become a safe haven for the terrorist group.
The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011 when the regime responded to anti-government protests with a violent crackdown, has left more than 230,000 people dead and nearly half of the country's population displaced, according to the U.N.
The security vacuum created by the conflict has also paved the way for extremist groups such as Daesh to gain a foothold in the region.
Turkey's letter to the U.N. followed its early Friday airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria. The jets carried out the operation “without violating the Syrian airspace”, the Prime Ministry said in a statement.
Turkey has stepped up efforts against Daesh since a suicide attack on Monday allegedly carried out by the group killed 32 people in southern Sanliurfa province.
On Thursday, gunfire from Syria killed a Turkish military officer and injured two troops in southern Kilis province, prompting Turkish forces to return fire.
On Friday evening, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition can deploy its manned and unmanned aerial vehicles at bases inside Turkey.
Turkish Air Forces would also take part in coalition airstrikes against the terrorist group, the ministry said in a statement.
