A Syrian woman, who fled with her family from the atrocities of the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate in Syria's northwestern Afrin and took shelter in Turkey, recalled the cruelty of the terror group and how their lives changed after the war broke out in 2011.

Esma Harma, whose husband went back to Afrin to fight PKK affiliate People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they had a happy life in Afrin before the war and that everything was "devastated" once the war broke out in March 2011.

"Anyone older than 13 years old was recruited by force, those who didn't want to join YPG/PKK ranks were tortured. I saw many children crying on their mothers' lap as they didn't want to join the terror group," Harma, a mother of six, said.

She said fears arose once the YPG/PKK terrorists emerged in the region. "They started to dig trenches around the strategic locations in every corner."

Recalling the torture and ill-treatment by the YPG/PKK terrorists, Harma said: "They wanted women to serve as their wives [...] Many women were raped by the terrorists. I am unable to forget these incidents."

Hamra went on to say that her relatives in Afrin told her the YPG/PKK terrorists prevented civilians from leaving the region.

"My relatives have told me that the civilians are used as human shields by YPG/PKK. The civilians, who were subjected to atrocities, were praying for Turkish troops' arrival in the region," she said.

"Turkish soldiers arrived in Afrin and gave the people of Afrin the right to live in the city," Hamra added.