Drone films terrorists planting bombs to kill civilians in Afrin

AFRIN/ANKARA

A video shot by a drone of Turkish Armed Forces shows that PYD/PKK terrorists are setting bombs at the exit point of Qurayriah village in Syria’s Afrin in a bid to prevent civilians from leaving the village.

One of the video revealed that a minivan, which was transporting the civilians out of the village, came under attack of the bomb planted on a roadside. A three-month-old baby and two other children were killed in the explosion.

It can be seen in the drone footages shot on Monday that two YPG/PKK terrorist group members were planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the exit of the village.

The footages also showed the Kalashnikovs-wielding terrorists planting improvised explosive devices on the roadside.

The drone also filmed the moment when two terrorists were neutralized by Turkish Air Force. It also captured the footage of civilians in a minivan trying to flee the area.

The footages show the minivan hit one of the IEDs planted by the terrorists on a roadside, but the speedy van managed to escape the explosion. However, the shell fragments damaged the tires of the van, forcing the driver to stop the vehicle.

The civilians were later found to flee the area on foot after the incident.

The village of Qurayriyah was in PYD/PKK terrorist group’s control until Monday. The Turkish forces along with the Free Syrian Army managed to clear the area a day later.

Bomb victim loses three children

The 60-year-old Muhammad Nur Alo got injured, while his two sons and a daughter were killed in the bomb traps.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency correspondent in Qurayriyah village after the Free Syrian Army took control of the village, injured Muhammad said he along with 35 other civilians were trying to flee to Ramadiyah village, which they knew was more secure.

"Those infidels planted bombs after every 150 meters. In the minivan, there were lots of women and children. Isn't it a shame? My two sons and my daughter were martyred. There was also a teenager. He is currently in the hospital and we don't know how he is. They planted bombs to asphalt road where civilians pass through. The place they hid the bomb was asphalt. Didn't they know that this is a sin? Look, my children are gone. My daughter was only three-months old. What was her fault?"

Reacting to the YPG/PKK, Alo said: "We found my daughter in two pieces. May God never forgive them, neither in this world nor in the hereafter."

Managing to hardly speak at his children's grave, Alo said that he did not know how they brought his children to the graveyard and he wasn't present at the burial.

Turkey on Jan. 20 launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

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 cruelty and oppression.

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.

The military has also said that only terrorist targets are being destroyed and "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming any civilians.

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

They made human shields of villagers

Hossain Mansoor, another villager from Qurayriyah said: “We will not forgive them now or in the hereafter for what they have done to us. The practices of the PKK were very bad. They would behave very differently to Arabs. We are Arabs. We were united. That’s why they treated us more harshly. They continued to oppress us in every way possible”.

“They have placed mines for us not to leave the village. Young people were killed. End these terror activities. Enough of them now,” Mansour said, and added: “They came by disguising themselves as civilians. They put mines on roads and homes. We have martyrs.”

Mansour conveyed how the terrorist organization asked for 5 million Syrian pounds (around $10 million) from families with children, or else they would recruit them.

“If you don’t have a son they take your daughter. They would raid homes. If you say something to them they would raid your home. They always kept us under pressure. They always wanted a boy or a girl to recruit.”

Emphasizing that the terror group was racketeering, Mansour said: “I don't own an olive grove. I achieved everything with my effort. They racketeered me. I have a store. But every day when I was going to work, they would ask me for my identification, my place of residency. Everybody knows I live here. Now they tell me that I am a refugee here.”

Turkey provides humanitarian access

Turkey provides necessary humanitarian access to civilians with its Operation Olive Branch. The Red Cross is able to deliver humanitarian aid to Afrin with the help of assurances given by Turkey.

However, the terrorist organization PYD/PKK continues to prevent the civilians from leaving the city.

In its statements, the Turkish General Staff emphasized the only targets of the operation are shelters, pits, weapons, vehicles, and equipment of the terrorists, and that utmost care is being taken to avoid harming civilians.

An example of this was seen during the operation on Feb. 23, when the Turkish Armed Forces had detected two moving convoys heading to Afrin from different directions.

The Turkish Armed forces hit only one of the convoys which was loaded with ammunition, while the civilian convoy was not targeted.

The UN officials have also acknowledged the efforts of YPG/PKK terrorists to prevent civilians from leaving the city.

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said on Feb. 6 the YPG/PKK had been keeping Afrin in blockade, not allowing civilians to go to safe areas.

UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock also said on Feb. 28 that civilians in Afrin are prevented by the terrorists from accessing safer areas.

Anadolu Agency, in a previously published story, had stated that YPG/PKK has forcibly drove the civilians to the district center as part of a strategy of using them as shields.

The agency also reported that the civilians dug trenches and put up a wall around the city center where the civilians live. Thus, the terrorist organization is preparing to use the civilians as shields in a possible conflict at the city center.

Meanwhile, the terrorist organization is making propaganda against the operation by disguising themselves as civilians while living among people, and making the stories of so-called civilian deaths.

Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 6 that the YPG/PKK terrorist group sent an estimated 500 terrorists from various areas of Syria to Afrin under the guise of civilian "solidarity" visits.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Armed Forces carried out an operation in Maska village of Afrin, and rescued four civilians, who were in their 80s and 90s. Their hands were tied and mines and hand-made explosives were placed around them by the YPG/PKK terrorists.