Turkish AKP government says it has detained 573 people for criticizing its offensive in northern Syria since the operation began earlier this month. The government last month launched an air and ground offensive, dubbed "Operation Olive Branch", against the Kurdish YPG militant group in Syria's northwestern Afrin region.
An Interior Ministry statement said Monday that 449 people have been detained so far for allegedly engaging in "terror propaganda" on social media, while a further 124 were detained for participating in protests against the military operation into the Syrian Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin.
AKP government last month launched an air and ground offensive, dubbed "Operation Olive Branch", against the Kurdish YPG militant in Syria's northwestern Afrin region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused opponents of the offensive of supporting terrorism, while authorities warned they would be prosecuted.
Last week, a prosecutor ordered the detention of 11 senior members of the Turkish Union of Doctors (TTB), including its chairman, after the organisation criticised the incursion, saying: "No to war, peace immediately".
