Ankara detains nearly 600 over social media posts, protests against Syrian offensive

Turkey has so far detained 573 people over social media posts and protests criticizing its military offensive in Syria, the government said on Monday. “Since the start of Operation Olive Branch, 449 people have been detained for spreading terrorist propaganda on social media and 124 people detained for taking part in protest action,” the Interior Ministry said. The operation has been widely supported by Turkey’s mainly pro-government media and by most political parties, with the exception of the pro-Kurdish opposition, according to Reuters.