TRT Radio Kurdi informs Afrin people of operation

By Burcu Calik

ANKARA (AA) - TRT Radio Kurdi broadcasts have been giving accurate information to the people in Afrin, Syria, where Turkey’s military operation continues.

“Voice of Afrin”, which started on March 5, directly addresses people of Afrin and spreads messages of brotherhood during its radio broadcasts.

It also warns people that the YPG/PKK terrorists were using civilians as human shields.

The terrorist group is forcing the local population to stay in the city center in order to use them as human shields. It is preventing Arabs and Kurds from leaving the area, especially those who want to go to regions under the control of Bashar al-Assad regime and its opponents. The UN also has criticized the move to limit the mobility of civilians.

The radio transmissions are being done between 1.30 p.m. and 3 p.m. local time, each day of the week, in both Arabic and Kurdish languages.

According to radio authorities, civilians and authorities of Free Syrian Army give positive feedback to the broadcasts, which they follow carefully.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK-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 are being destroyed and that "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.