President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that there has been significant progress in his country’s operation to oust Kurdish militias from Turkey’s border region, noting that more than 3,400 of whom he classified as “terrorists” have been neutralized. With regard to allegations against his country’s military of allegedly targeting civilians intentionally, the Turkish President emphasized that if Ankara’s aim was to kill civilians, “Afrin would have been captured a long time ago.” “If Turkey had aimed to kill civilians, Afrin would have been captured a long time ago. But we are showing all kind of sensitivities, and we are very careful. Right now, civilians are being evacuated in cars through a special corridor,” Erdogan said.
A Syrian Kurdish YPG militia spokesperson reacted to President Erdogan’s comments, stressing that the claims in which civilians are being evacuated were false. That said, after footage released purported to show hundreds of people fleeing the encircled city, the YPG militia claimed a Turkish bombardment has pushed some 10,000 people to flee their homes.
The European Union passed a non-binding motion urging Turkey to halt its military offensive in northern Syria. The motion further urged Turkey to remove its troops from Afrin, stressing the need to divert Ankara’s attention to “defeating the U.N.-listed terrorist organizations,” a reference used to label the Islamic State and other Islamist organizations operating in Syria.
“We move colleagues to the situation in Syria. The resolution as a whole. In favour. Against. Abstentions. Colleagues, that is adopted,” European Parliament Vice President Mairead McGuinnees said.
Responding to the motion, Ankara condemned the European Union, saying it demonstrated “clear support” for the militants. It is important to note that Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG a terrorist organization that is a Syrian extension of the outlawed PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has waged a three-decade against the Turkish state. Furthermore, the PKK is deemed a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.