In the press statement he held in Presidential Complex, Deputy Secretary General and Spokesperson of the Presidency Ambassador İbrahim Kalın said, " When we launched Afrin Operation, we shared with the whole world that first of all this is a fight against terrorist organizations and that it is transparently carried out together with the legitimate opposition forces in Syria. In fact, Afrin Operation is a sincerity test for the Western countries. Because, if we are really sincere and consistent about the fight against terrorism, all countries and all circles which are against terrorism should unconditionally support Operation Olive Branch. YPG/PYD has sought to turn Afrin into a second Qandil for some time now. That attempt has been prevented."

"YPG/PYD has sought to turn Afrin into a second Qandil"

"YPG/PYD has sought to turn Afrin into a second Qandil for some time now. We see within the framework of the intelligence that has reached us and of the information, we obtain now and during the operation that this effort has been intensely continuing. But thanks be to Allah, with this intervention, Mr. President's conduct and the intense works of Turkish Armed Forces, Afrin has been prevented from becoming a second Qandil. And under no circumstances will it be allowed from now on. However, we must underline the PYD/YPG terrorist organization's attempt to block the evacuation of the civilians, especially in Afrin. It is obvious that the reason for this is to use the civilians as human shields and this, as we all know, is a war crime," Kalın said. (ILKHA)