46 Turkish Military personnel killed in Syria
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Ankara - Some 46 Turkish military personnel have been killed and 225 others wounded in the 58-day long operation 'Olive Branch', the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces announced Sunday.
The Turkish army units and militants of the so-called Free Army of Syria occupied the northern Syrian city of Afrin Sunday morning, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
The Turkish news network 'SAT 7 Turk' said during clashes and occupation of Afrin by the Turkish army and militants of the Free Army of Syria, 3,603 members of the People's Protection Unit (YPG), Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed.
None of Turkish media outlets has released any exact figure on the casualties of the Turkish-protected militants belonging to the so-called Free Army of Syria but an entity calling itself the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a few days ago that 409 militants of the Free Army of Syria had been killed in the Afrin operations.
No official or unofficial source has so far announced the number of civilians killed in Afrin but according to media over 200,000 residents of the city have been rendered homeless.
The Turkish army and militants of the so-called Fee Army of Syria launched military operation 'Olive Branch' in the northern Syrian city of Afrin on January 20.
The Damascus government has called Turkey's military operations in Afrin and other northern areas of Syria an 'act of occupation' demanding an immediate pullout of Turkish military units from Syrian soil.
Violating Syria's national sovereignty by Turkey and its military operation inside that country has been condemned by international circles and independent governments and has even drawn some criticism inside Turkey to an extent that nearly 1,000 of those voicing opposition to the military operations have been detained by the Ankara government.
