(VOVworld) – The final goal of a Turkish incursion into Syria is not simply to retake the city of al-Bab from the Islamic State group, but to cleanse the border region of jihadists, President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference on Sunday before his official visit to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (Photo:VNA)

Erdogan said the ultimate goal of the campaign is to cleanse a 5000-square-km area, adding that Turkish forces have no intention of staying in Syria once the area has been cleared of both IS and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), whom Turkey sees as an enemy force.