Amid the flood of false images and fake information spread by PKK/YPG-linked social media accounts and websites over Turkey's Operation Olive Branch aimed at clearing the terrorist groups from Syria's Afrin, a photo shared by the UNICEF division prompted a social media campaign demanding apology.
A tweet posted Sunday by the official Twitter account of UNICEF Middle East & North Africa (MENA) – decrying dire humanitarian conditions among children in Afrin and implying Turkey's operation forced local populations to flee their homes – featured a photo from the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, which has been besieged by Assad regime forces since the outbreak of the civil war.
The photo was shared by another UNICEF employee, Stefanie Carmichael, on her official Twitter account on Dec. 22, 2017, and it was also featured in other UN websites.
From today's #Syria Situation Report: Over 390,000 people remain trapped inside Eastern Ghouta, with limited access to humanitarian aid. Half of them are children. #ChildrenUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/TuikDuGCIu
— Stefanie Carmichael (@stefccarmichael) December 21, 2017
Turkish social media users were quick to notice the mismatched image, with some demanding an apology from the humanitarian organization and others accusing it of siding with the terrorist group.
Following reactions, the tweet posted by UNICEF MENA account was deleted on Monday afternoon.
In areas it controlled, the PKK's Syrian affiliate People's Protection Forces (YPG) terrorist group has committed serious human rights violations and caused hundreds of thousands of local Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens to flee to neighboring regions and countries. The terrorist group's parent organization PKK has waged a war against the Turkish state since 1984, leading to the death of over 40,000 people. The YPG has conducted dozens of terror attacks targeting Turkish border towns and villages, in addition to non-stop attacks to border posts.
Since Operation Olive Branch began on Jan. 20, the terrorist group and its sympathizers have continuously accused Turkey of targeting civilians in an effort to build a negative global public opinion. So far, dozens of photos and claims used in posts accusing Turkey of civilian casualties have been proven fake.
Turkey denies the accusations, saying that the operation is being conducted with utmost care, in addition to humanitarian efforts for civilians that would be displaced by the operation.
