The Turkish government detained all the senior members of the country's biggest medial association on Tuesday, following a statement from the group criticizing Turkey's military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria.

"War is a man-made public health problem," read the statement from the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), which represents 80 percent of the country's doctors.

"No to war, peace right now."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the TTB "terrorist lovers" in response, and on Monday the Turkish Health Ministry launched a lawsuit for the removal of 11 executive council members of the TTB.

Ankara's decision to join the ground war in Syria has been met with heavy criticism abroad, and no small amount of opposition within Turkey. Many have pointed out the dubious nature of the claim that Turkey is also fighting "Islamic State" (IS) terrorists – as there is no IS presence in Afrin, where the fighting has occurred.

The TTB members will join 311 journalists and activists who have been arrested on terror charges for speaking out against the war.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Afrin campaign has already claimed the lives of 64 civilians and five Turkish soldiers.

es/kms (AP, AFP)