Turkey refutes claims of YPG on using of chemicals in Syria's Afrin, says accusations baseless
Turkish authorities have made remarks to the reporters on Operation Olive Branch in Syria's northern to refute the claims of the YPG terror group on using of chemical weapons in Afrin, saying that "These are baseless accusations. Turkey never used chemical weapons. We take utmost care about civilians in Operation Olive Branch."
- World
- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 12:00 | 17 February 2018
- Modified Date: 03:39 | 17 February 2018
Turkey never used chemical weapons in its operations in Syria, and takes the utmost care of civilians, a Turkish diplomatic source said, after the YPG terror group accused it of carrying out a gas attack in Syria's Afrin region.
"These are baseless accusations. Turkey never used chemical weapons. We take utmost care about civilians in Operation Olive Branch," the source said.
Making black propaganda against Turkey's ongoing Afrin operation in Syria's northern region, YPG terror group, the Syrian offshoot of PKK, which has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more then 30 years, claimed that the Turkish military carried out a suspected gas attack that wounded six people in Syria's Afrin region on Friday.
The Turkish official also described the accusations of wounding six civilians through a suspected gas attack as "black propaganda".
Turkey launched an air and ground offensive last month on the Afrin region, opening a new front in the multi-sided Syrian war, to target YPG terrorists in northern Syria.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and in the region as well as to protect Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.
The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights within international law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, its right to self-defense under the U.N. charter and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.
The military also said, "utmost importance" is being placed on not harming any civilians.
The operation in Afrin – bordering Turkey's Hatay and Kilis provinces – was widely expected in the wake of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, which cleared Daesh terrorists from Turkey's border between Aug. 24, 2016, and March 2017.
Afrin has been a major hideout for the Democratic Unity Party (PYD) and its armed wing YPG since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.