Turkey deserves Nobel Peace Prize for its Syria op: Turkish Red Crescent

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Turkey should be given a Nobel Peace Prize for its military offensive in northern Syria, the head of Turkish Red Crescent has said, adding that the operation needs to be told across the world properly.

"Our soldiers were martyred to protect the lives of the people there. As the Red Crescent Chief who was on the ground, I'm saying that a Nobel Peace Price should be given to Turkey for carrying out this offensive," Kerem Kınık told daily Sözcü.

Saying that he was on the ground during Turkey's three military offensives in northern Syria, Kınık noted that the operations were "a lesson that we would give to humanity."

Turkey carried out three incursions in three years in northern Syria, with the most recent one being Operation Peace Spring that was launched on Oct. 9.

One of the aims of the operation was to clear the border of militants of the People's Protection Units (YPG), which is the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.

Kınık's remarks were an apparent rebuke of the criticisms aimed at Turkey regarding civilian areas.

Saying that the Red Crescent will have some permanent services in the area, Kınık added that they started distributing humanitarian aid after "the terrorists escaped from the area."

"Children, youth and the elderly ran towards us when they saw the Red Crescent symbol. There is no such approach for Western institutions. Turkish Red Crescent has a different place in people's hearts there," he also said.

"They wanted to build a barrier between us and that geography. We demolished those barriers," he added.