Mustafa Akıncı, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), has announced that he received death threats after criticizing Turkey’s military operation in northeastern Syria.
According to reports in the Turkish press, the police have identified the individuals who threatened Akıncı.
Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in northeastern Syria on Oct. 9 targeting Kurdish militia.
“Even though we called a military operation in 1974 [on Cyprus] ‘Peace Offensive,’ it was a war, and there was blood. Now, although we say it’s ‘Peace Spring,’ it is blood streaming out of it, not water,” Akıncı said on Oct. 13.
Turkey had intervened as a guarantor power in Cyprus in 1974 following a coup aimed at the island’s annexation by Greece. The KKTC was established in 1983 and is recognized only by Ankara.
According to observers, dozens of civilians have lost their lives during Turkey’s incursion, while nearly 300,000 people have been displaced due to air strikes and clashes.