Turkish doctors held for criticising Syrian push

Turkish authorities have cracked down on any expression of dissent over the air and ground offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

A Turkish prosecutor ordered the detention of 11 senior members of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) on Tuesday, including its chairman, after the body criticised Turkey's military operation in northern Syria.
The prosecutor said police in Ankara had started legal proceedings on Tuesday morning and search-and-detention operations were carried out in several provinces. Media reports said nine of the medics had been detained.
Turkish authorities have cracked down on any expression of dissent over the air and ground offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in Syria's Afrin region. More than 300 people have been detained for social media posts criticising the campaign since it began 10 days ago. The association's lawyer Ziynet Ozcelik said that the doctors faced accusations of "propaganda in support of a terrorist organisation, and provoking the public".
Ozcelik said it was the first time in the association's history that all its executive members had been ordered detained. The association had denounced the cross-border operation into Syria's Afrin, saying: "No to war, peace immediately". That prompted President Tayyip Erdogan to accuse the union of treason.

• MENA