Denial of BBC's report

The Directorate of Communications has sent a denial to the news report published by the UK-based BBC under the title ‘We Are Still at War... Syria’s Kurds Are Fighting Turkey Months After the Fall of Assad’, and the Center for Combating Disinformation has also made a statement on the matter. The denial text sent to the BBC by the Directorate of Communications stated that the news report in question contains one-sided and misleading statements that distort Turkey’s legitimate counter-terrorism activities in Syria. The statement emphasized that Turkey is not targeting any ethnic group or civilians in its fight against terrorism, and drew attention to the fact that Turkey’s only target is terrorist organizations such as the PKK/YPG and ISIS that threaten peace and security in the region.

'TURKEY'S OPERATIONS ARE PLANNED WITH PRECISION TO AVOID HARMING CIVILIANS'

The statement noted that Turkey was conducting its operations in northern Syria in accordance with international law, prioritizing the protection of civilians:

"The news is trying to create a completely false perception that Turkey is waging a war against the Kurds in Syria. Turkey attaches importance to the territorial integrity of Syria and the peaceful living of its people, and adopts an approach that considers all ethnic and religious groups in the country. Turkey has hosted and continues to host millions of Syrians, including Kurds, whose identities were ignored during the Baath regime, whose citizenship rights were taken away, and who were subjected to systematic oppression. The thousands of Syrians of Kurdish origin living in Turkey today are the clearest indication of Turkey's inclusive and humanitarian policies. Turkey is very sensitive about protecting women and children in the region from armed conflict. Turkey's operations are planned with the utmost sensitivity in order not to harm civilians, and humanitarian aid efforts in the region continue uninterruptedly. However, it is a fact documented by international reports that the PKK/YPG terrorist organization forcibly recruits children, abuses women, and uses civilians as human shields. Turkey's struggle aims to prevent such human rights violations and ensure the security of the people in the region."

'THE BIGGEST THREAT TO THE NEW SYRIAN ADMINISTRATION IS THE EXISTENCE OF THE PKK/YPG, A SEPARATORY AND TERRORIST ORGANIZATION'

The Presidency, stating that Turkey strongly supports the efforts of the new Syrian administration established after the end of the Baath regime to establish national unity and solidarity in a way that will encompass all segments of the country, stated that the future of Syria must be shaped by an inclusive and peaceful understanding of governance in which all ethnic and religious groups in the country are equal citizens. The statement pointed out that the greatest threat to these efforts of the new Syrian administration is the existence of the separatist and terrorist organization PKK/YPG, and emphasized that the PKK/YPG is disrupting the unity and stability of Syria, fueling ethnic discrimination, and trying to establish an illegal administration in the region through terror, and that this situation endangers the security of not only Syria but the entire region.