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Turksih President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is promising new military operations against Kurdish militants along its border in Syria and Iraq as he presented his election manifesto.

Speaking before thousands of supporters in Istanbul on Sunday, Erdogan described next month's snap presidential and parliamentary polls as a "milestone" for a strong Turkey. He says Turkey would "take the stage as a global power."

Erdogan called elections more than a year earlier than planned for June 24 — a move analysts say partly aims to capitalize on nationalist sentiment running high following a successful campaign that ousted Syrian Kurdish militia from the Syrian border enclave of Afrin.

The elections will usher in a new governing system that abolishes the prime minister's office and consolidates most powers in the hands of the president.