HANOVER’S city centre was taken over by thousands of Kurds and their left-wing supporters at the weekend as they protested against Turkey’s offensive in Afrin and Germany’s arms sales to Ankara.

Under the banner “Newroz means resistance — the resistance is Afrin,” marking Tuesday’s Kurdish New Year, the protest was largely peaceful.

Against a backdrop of music and songs praising the military feats of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ), protesters shouted: “Long live the Afrin resistance,” “Long live YPG/YPJ resistance” and “Murderer Erdogan,” referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

After marching in sub-zero temperatures, protesters gathered at Hanover’s opera house for music and speeches by Kurdish politicians and activists.

They were joined by allies from Germany’s Left party, who are also pressing Germany’s government to stop its arms trade with Turkey. Many groups circled up for traditional Kurdish dancing.

Newroz has long carried heavy political undertones around the themes of resistance and oppression.

According to legend, evil despot Zahak sacrificed Kurdish children until a blacksmith named Kawa organised a rebellion, killing the king and torching his castle.

This year Newroz falls as Kurds have warned of an impending massacre and ethnic cleansing in Afrin, where Turkey’s military and allied forces have surrounded the enclave and vowed to besiege the town.

“Kurds are face to face with slaughter in many areas,” declared Pervin Buldan, who co-chairs the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the third-largest party in the Turkish parliament.

She detailed many injustices against Kurds, from the Turkish military’s destruction of towns in south-east Turkey to the arrest of hundreds of Kurdish politicians, before praising the military feats of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the YPG/YPJ against Isis.

“They will push back and defend Afrin” against the Turkish army, Ms Buldan told the crowd, who shouted: “Long live brother Apo,” the nickname of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, and “Long live YPG/YPJ.”

Germany is home to 3 million people of Turkish origin, about a quarter of whom are Kurds.

There have been several clashes in recent weeks between Kurdish and Turkish groups, with mosques, institutions and shops attacked.