IZMIR – Turkish journalists Fatih Polat and Hakkı Özdal criticised the way sections of Turkey’s opposition media have covered attacks on Rojava, saying the reporting risks legitimising violence and alleged war crimes.

 

The remarks come as attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ISIS and Turkey-backed paramilitary groups on northern Syria continue, prompting renewed debate over media ethics and responsibility. While pro-government outlets have described the operations as efforts to “clear Syria of terrorism,” Polat and Özdal said much of the opposition media has echoed similar narratives, distorting facts rather than challenging them.

 

Speaking to our agency, journalist Fatih Polat said journalists have a duty to provide accurate information and to oppose what he described as the siege of Rojava.

 

“Presenting the siege of Rojava as a success is unacceptable,” Polat said. “There are developments that amount to war crimes. Journalism cannot support occupations or sieges carried out by imperialist powers. That falls into the category of supporting war crimes.”

 

Polat added that journalists and media outlets should stand with the right of the people of Rojava to determine their own future, arguing that current coverage lacks historical context and ethical awareness.

 

Hakkı Özdal, editor-in-chief of Evrensel newspaper, said the attacks on Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo and areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces had exposed contradictions within opposition circles.

 

“When it comes to Kurdish political gains, some so-called opposition media reverse their position,” Özdal said, noting that those under attack were labelled “terrorists,” while jihadist groups were portrayed as legitimate forces.

 

Özdal said this alignment with government narratives on the Kurdish issue was not new and had previously served to expand the political space of President Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration.

 

“Opposition to Kurdish political achievements often overrides even strongly professed secular sensitivities,” he said, describing the result as a media environment in which jihadist groups are effectively legitimised by self-described secular opponents of the government.