Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued direct threats against Kurdish rebels in Syria on Wednesday. 

This comes amongst reports of a Turkish troop buildup on the Turkey-Syria border in what analysts believe may be harbinger of an invasion into Kurdish-held territory .

“The separatist murderers will either bid farewell to their weapons, or they will be buried in Syrian lands along with their weapons,” the Turkish president said, speaking at a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Erdogan has strictly held the position that the Kurdish YPG militia must be disarmed.

The YPG, or the People’s Protection Units, emerged as a key militia during the Syrian civil war. The YPG was an essential in the U.S.-allied forces in a coalition against Islamic State. 

Turkey categorizes YPG as a terrorist organization.

Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG militia, a key part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia. 

The PKK has waged armed struggles against the Turkish government  since 1984 calling first for an independent Kurdish state, and later changing their demands to more Kurdish autonomy. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. 

‘We will eliminate the terrorist organization (PKK) as it tries to build a wall of blood between us and our Kurdish sisters and brothers,’ Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan also expressed support for the new Syrian regime: “We’re delighted whenever we see [the] free Syrian flag alongside our own crescent and star flag in Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Homs, Daraa, and Manbij.” 

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS group that put the final nail in the coffin of the Assad regime, is also listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara and Washington.

Earlier, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said that the armed forces killed 21 YPG-PKK fighters in northern Syria and Iraq.