Germany condemns PYD/PKK rocket attacks on Turkey

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Wednesday condemned recent cross-border rocket attacks by the PYD/PKK terrorist group which have killed seven and injured dozens in Turkish provinces bordering Syria.

“If attacks are launched from a region to the territory of another state, of course this is something that must be condemned, it is a worrying development,” deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Rainer Breul told reporters in Berlin.

Breul underlined that Turkey has “legitimate security interests” along its border with Syria due to threats posed by the ongoing civil war in its neighbor.

Since Jan. 21, rocket and mortar attacks launched by the PYD/PKK terrorist group in the Syrian enclave of Afrin have killed seven civilians and injured 113 in Turkey's border provinces of Hatay and Kilis.

In addition, according to Turkey, over the past few years Hatay and Kilis have been subject to over 700 attacks from Afrin.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove terrorist groups, including the PYD/PKK and Daesh, from northwestern Syria.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as 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.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Bashar Assad regime left the city to the terror group without a fight.