24 held in Turkey over ‘terror propaganda’
ANK ARA: Turkish authorities have detained 24 people on suspicion of disseminating “terror propaganda” against Turkey’s military operation inside Syria, state media said yesterday.
The suspects are being held in a nationwide crackdown on those posting social media messages deemed to be supportive of terror groups, the state-run Anadolu news agency said, quoting the Interior Ministry.
The arrests come after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged national unity over the operation, warning those who responded to calls for protests would have to pay a “heavy price”.
Those detained are accused of producing propaganda for the Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) militia deemed a terror group by Ankara and the target of Turkey’s operation.
The Dogan news agency said investigations had been opened against 57 people.
Turkey’s army and rebel allies battled United States-backed Kurdish militia in Syria’s Afrin province on Sunday, stepping up a two-day-old campaign against YPG fighters that has opened a new front in Syria’s civil war.
Amid US calls for restraint, Turkish artillery pounded YPG positions, while rockets fired from inside Syria slammed into two Turkish border towns, wounding dozens.
Turkey began its push to clear YPG fighters from a northwestern enclave of Syria on Saturday when it launched artillery and air strikes on their positions in what it called “Operation Olive Branch”.
“Our jets took off and started bombing. And now the ground operation is underway. Now we see how the YPG... are fleeing in Afrin. We will chase them. God willing, we will complete this operation very quickly,” Erdogan said.
Turkey wants to create a 30km “safe zone” in the region.
“We urge Turkey to exercise restraint and ensure that its military operations remain limited in scope and duration and scrupulous to avoid civilian casualties,” US State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said, at a time when Turkey’s ties with Washington are deeply strained.
Turkey did advise the US before taking action, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday, adding: “We’ll work this out.” Agencies