GMB, Britain’s general union representing over 600,000 workers in the public and private sectors, has condemned Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's ill-informed and hypocritical comments about Turkey's illegitimate attack on Afrin.

Johnson said that Turkey was right to want to "make its borders secure" and that the UK and Turkey have a shared goal of "reducing violence".

The reality is that Turkey's invasion of Syria is just one more chapter in their long history of persecuting the Kurdish people, said GMB and recalled that during the conflict in Syria, Afrin has been the calmest region in the country and poses no threat to Turkey whatsoever.

The general union pointed out that; “Since defeating ISIS and other terrorist groups in their enclave, the Kurds have embarked on the construction of an inclusive, democratic society and it is this, the threat of a good example, that has prompted the Erdogan regime to attack.”

Bert Schouwenburg, GMB International Officer, said:

"The disgraceful comments made by Boris Johnson about Turkey's illegitimate and indiscriminate attack on the Kurdish canton of Afrin in Syria are inaccurate, ill-informed and hypocritical.

“Instead of selling arms to the genocidal Erdogan regime, he should be supporting the Kurds who have been pivotal in defeating ISIS and have started to build an inclusive and democratic society in Rojava.

“According to Johnson, civilians killed by Russian bombs constitute a war crime, but murdering Kurdish civilians with Turkish bombs is part of Turkey's 'legitimate interest in the securing of its borders'.

“This is pure hypocrisy and we condemn it unreservedly.”