24 January 2018•Update: 24 January 2018
By Ilkay Guder
ANKARA
Turkey’s current operation against terrorist forces in northwest Syria, just across the border, is being monitored and coordinated with the help of a high-tech center in the presidential complex.
The information coordination center, which operates 24/7 with a staff of 155 people, is responsible for gathering updates about the military operations Turkey has been conducting, including the current Operation Olive Branch.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is given critical information about the operations from ground units through the Prime Ministry and all other ministries and security departments which are briefed by the information coordination center.
The latest information from the field is gathered from the local officials such as gendarmes, governors, security departments, and border posts via the secure video conferencing system of the General Staff and Interior Ministry.
State of the art
The information coordination center is equipped with the state-of-the-art communication systems such as wired and wireless phones, satellite phones, and phones providing scrambled, secure communication enabling the electronic flow of critical data.
Images received from unmanned aerial vehicles used in Operation Olive Branch are viewed live from giant screens in crisis centers inside the facility.
Established in 2015 based on a presidential decree, the information coordination center monitors and analyzes political, economic, military, health, and security developments all around the world.
Representatives from all ministries, including the Prime Ministry, as well as the security departments are assigned to the coordination center.
