Turkish soldiers are seen with their armored vehicles near Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay, Turkey, on Jan. 23, 2018. Turkish military's operations in Syria will continue "until all terrorists are fully eliminated" and 3.5 million Syrian refugees return home, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Tuesday. (Xinhua)

ANKARA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish military's operations in Syria will continue "until all terrorists are fully eliminated" and 3.5 million Syrian refugees return home, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Tuesday.

"Our operations will continue until the separatist terror organization is fully cleared from the region and around 3.5 million Syrians who are now sheltered in Turkey are able to securely return to their homeland," Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a written statement after a top security meeting held on the fourth day of "Operation Olive Branch" in Syria's Afrin.

Turkey currently hosts around 3.5 million Syrians who have fled violence in Syria since the civil war broke out in early 2011.

Kalin also stressed that the undergoing "Operation Olive Branch" is not against any ethnic group.

The Turkish military and allied Free Syrian Army rebels launched the operation on Saturday, opening a new front in Syria's seven-year-long war.