PYD/PKK uses child photos for terror smear campaign
The PYD/PKK terror group is continuing to use social media for its smear campaign against the Turkish military and its ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria's Afrin region.
To smear Turkey's counter-terrorist operation, terror supporters resorted to their old tactic of using old, completely unrelated photos deliberately mislabeled as if they came from Afrin.
One photo of a child shared under the tag "Stop genocide in Afrin" was actually taken in the war-torn country of Yemen last September.
Another photo of a child shared by PYD/PKK sympathizers with the caption "Save children in Afrin" turned out to be from Douma, Syria, taken before the operation, amid attacks by the Assad regime on civilians.
Turkish Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın said on Thursday that the city center of Syria’s northwestern Afrin region will be cleared of terrorists “very soon.”"Over 70 percent of Syria’s Afrin region has been secured during Operation Olive Branch," pointed Kalın in a press conference on Thursday.Kalın also revealed that Turkey has no intention to hand Afrin to the Assad regime after Operation Olive Branch is completed.“The circle has been completely tightened around the terrorists. We predict that the center of Afrin will be completely cleared of terrorists within a short period of time. They wanted to make Afrin a new Qandil. This [desire] has been eliminated through Operation Olive Branch,” Kalın said. Azeri students send letters to Afrin op. soldiersIraq’s Qandil Mountains have served as a headquarters for the terror group PKK.“All the support that the U.S. administration gives to the PYD and YPG in the guise of fighting Daesh gives breath to the PKK,” he said.“Every weapon and bullet given to the PYD and YPG means the PKK grows stronger in other regions."In its three-decade terrorist war on Turkey, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, including those of women and children.Video: New anthem for Turkish Gendarmerie released amid Afrin opRegarding the plan to withdraw U.S.-backed PKK/YPG terrorists from Syria Manbij, Kalın said that due to the fact that newly-appointed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was not well-informed on the issue, the plan would be delayed for one to two weeks.The YPG is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.The route terrorists use to enter and exit eastern Afrin will be closed soon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a gathering of village and neighborhood heads at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara on Wednesday.TAF: 3,524 terrorists 'neutralized' in Afrin operationYPG/PKK trenches prevent civilians from leaving AfrinEastern Ghouta crisisSyria's besieged Eastern Ghouta region will continue to be a priority issue for Turkey in the coming days, Kalin said. “Our priority is stopping the airstrikes [there].”“It is unacceptable that thousands of people are punished collectively with 300-500 terrorists there given as an excuse," he added. Home to some 400,000 people, Eastern Ghouta has remained the target of a crippling regime siege for the last five years.The Assad regime has stepped up its siege in recent months, preventing the delivery of badly needed humanitarian aid and leaving thousands of residents in need of medical treatment.Last week, a UN inquiry commission released a report accusing the Assad regime of committing war crimes in Eastern Ghouta, including the use of chemical weapons on civilians, causing mass starvation, and forcibly preventing medical evacuations.Video: YPG/PKK trenches prevent civilians from leaving Syria’s Afrin
Turkey secured 'over 70 percent' of Syria's Afrin: presidential spox
Yet another photo which shows a child without legs under the hashtag “Stop Genocide in Afrin” was actually taken in Gaza in 2014, during Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
Through their lies, the terror group has been striving to convince the international community that Operation Olive Branch targets civilians in Afrin, despite the reality, which is the opposite.
All these terrorist claims are false, with all the photos proven to have come from before Operation Olive Branch began, and hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
False claims spur smear campaign
Some social media accounts which posted disinformation were later shut down and their posts removed.
The PKK terror group has instructed its supporters to post fake or distorted images falsely claiming that "civilians are being targeted."
According to the Turkish General Staff, the aim of the Afrin operation is to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region, and to protect the Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.
The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, the military added.
It also said only terrorist targets are being destroyed and that "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.
The PYD/PKK is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.