PYD/PKK black propaganda misuses Erdogan's photo

By Fatma Esma Arslan

ANKARA (AA) - Social media accounts supporting the PYD/PKK terror group have used an image of Turkish president's photograph to defame Turkey's ongoing Operation Olive Branch.

Supporters of the terror group are sharing a photoshopped image with the false claim that "Turkey supports Daesh".

In the photograph, a Turkmen opposition group is shown as Daesh with Recep Tayyip Erdogan's image under the Turkish flag in the background.

In reality, the photograph was taken on Oct. 2, 2015, after a Turkish NGO delivered aid to Sultan Abdulhamid Han brigade, founded by Bayirbucak Turkmens in Syria. This correct version of the picture had no image of the Turkish president in it.

The terror group supporters are creating fake images to malign Turkey and Erdogan.

Previously, the PYD/PKK supporters had used an image of Daesh over an Anadolu Agency photograph of Mt. Bursaya in Syria; originally the picture had depicted a soldier with a Turkish flag that later became a symbol of Operation Olive Branch.

On Jan. 20, Turkey along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) launched Operation Olive Branch to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

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, it said.

The military also said only terror targets were being destroyed and "utmost care and sensitivity" were being used to not harm civilians.