By Daren Butler, Ece Toksabay and Umit Ozdal ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Talks aimed at ending a 40-year-old militant conflict have fostered peace hopes in Turkey but the precarious situation of Kurdish forces in Syria and uncertainty about Ankara's intentions have left many Kurds anxious about the path ahead.

Turkey threatened Tuesday to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria unless they accepted Ankara's conditions for a "bloodless" transition after the fall of strongman president Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party will hold face-to-face talks with imprisoned Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan for a second time, possibly as early as next week, two DEM lawmakers said on Wednesday.

The Turkish Armed Forces have been put on high combat readiness due to the possibility of conducting an operation against Kurdish armed groups in Syria. This information was relayed to the pro-government newspaper "Türkiye" by sources from the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

The Turkish armed forces have been placed on full combat readiness due to the potential for operations against Kurdish armed groups in Syria. This information was provided to the pro-government newspaper "Türkiye" by sources within the Turkish Ministry of Defense.