Village guards join Turkish forces in Afrin op

Among hundreds of village guards who applied to join the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), a preliminary team of 180 was formed and sent to take part in Turkey’s counterterrorism fight in Syria’s Afrin.

Village guards, who previously fought a successful war against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for several years in southeastern Turkey, volunteered to join the Turkish ranks in Operation Olive Branch.

Guards first gathered at the Provincial Gendarmerie Station of Diyarbakır, where a farewell ceremony was held.

“We don’t feel comfortable staying at home and watching Operation Olive Branch on TV while our soldiers, with whom we fought side by side in counterterrorism operations in Turkey, are being martyred in Syria,” said the head of the Association of the Anatolian Village Guards and Martyrs’ Families Ziya Sözen during the ceremony.

Sözen also noted that the applicants who had participated in Turkey’s counterterrorism operations in southeastern districts of Sur and Nusaybin and received training at the Foça Gendarmerie Commando School were primarily chosen for Operation Olive Branch.

Pointing out the fact that the participation of the village guards in the operations would also destroy the perception that “Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch is being conducted against Kurds,” Sözen said, “Kurds don’t kill Kurds. We are going there [Afrin] to rescue the Kurds from the tyranny of the terrorists. We will be serving where we are needed during the operations. Another advantage of our village guards is that they can speak the local language, which allows them to communicate more easily with the oppressed Syrians in the region.”

Operation Olive Branch was initiated on Jan. 20 in Afrin to establish security and stability, eliminate PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorists, and save locals from their oppression and cruelty.

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.

The military said it is putting the "utmost importance" on not harming any civilians.

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

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.