Middle East
Residents of the war-torn city, which was freed from terrorist groups in 2016, have reportedly protested against a Turkish military operation as well as the US presence in Syria.
Hundreds of people have come to the central square in Aleppo to take part in a rally against the Turkish military operation in Afrin, according to the Syrian news agency SANA. They demanded that Ankara withdraw its troops from Syrian territory. They also reportedly held banners condemning the US and Western countries for their interference in Syria, which contradicts international law and ethics.
On January 20, Ankara, jointly with opposition Free Syrian Army forces, launched Operation Olive Branch, entering the Syrian region of Afrin, which is predominantly populated by Kurds. Ankara claims it wants to “clear” Turkey's border from the “terrorist” threat: Turkey sees de facto autonomous Kurdish regions of Syria as controlled by terrorists and is especially wary of Kurdish held regions to the west of the Euphrates River. However, it's been reported that Turkish troops have entered the southern part of Aleppo province, following the Kurdish fighters. More than 200,000 residents of the predominantly Kurdish Syrian city have been forced out of their homes.
Turkey considers the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish political party in northern Syria, and its Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia to be…
