Protesting a report on Turkey

I have read the news piece titled “Turkey raids pro-govt forces in Afrin, kill 36: UN points to likely war crimes in Ghouta” published in this newspaper on March 4, with great disappointment.

The Reuters article is about Turkey's counter-terrorism operation in Afrin, which is located at our border in north-western Syria. In order to clear our borders from terrorist elements, the Turkish Armed Forces have launched “Operation Olive Branch” to ensure our border security, neutralise terrorists in Afrin and thus, save the brotherly Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of these terrorists. The operation is carried out on the basis of the international law, in accordance with our right to self-defence, as outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and the relevant Security Council resolutions and in full respect of Syria's territorial integrity.

The Turkish Armed Forces have taken all necessary precautions to avoid collateral damage to the civilian population. The black propaganda run by the terrorist elements in the field has been proven to be based on fake news and predated irrelevant photos.

Devrim Ozturk, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Bangladesh