DAMASCUS – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has condemned Turkish militaryoperation in the country’s northwestern region of Afrin, stating that theoffensive is part of Ankara’s support for terrorist groups operating insidethe conflict-plagued Arab country.

“The brutal Turkish aggression on the Syrian town of Afrin cannot beseparated from the Turkish regime’s policy from the first day of Syria’scrisis, which was essentially built on supporting terrorism and terroristorganizations, whatever their names,” Assad said in statements carried bySyria’s official news agency SANA.

Earlier on Sunday, Turkish ground forces, backed by armored vehicles,special forces and infantry regiments, advanced 5 kilometers (3 miles)inside Afrin along with the so-called Free Syrian Army militants. No majorclashes took place during the movement.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that Turkish warplanes andartillery units had hit 153 positions of the Kurdish People’s ProtectionUnits (YPG) militants so far.

“Operation Olive Branch continues as planned and the ground offensive hasbegun,” the military stated on the second day of the military operation.

The military also asserted that only terrorists and their positions,shelters, were being destroyed, and that “careful attention” was being paidnot to harm any civilian.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday afternoon said the ongoingOperation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin would be completed “in very shorttime.”

The Syrian government had earlier condemned the “brutal Turkish aggression”against Afrin, rejecting Ankara’s claim about having informed Damascusof the operation.

Damascus “strongly condemns the brutal Turkish aggression on Afrin, whichis an inseparable part of Syrian territory,” official news agency SANAcited a Syrian foreign ministry source as saying on Saturday.

“Syria completely denies claims by the Turkish regime that it was informedof this military operation,” the source added.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish-language Kanal 24news broadcaster on Saturday that Ankara was informing the Syriangovernment “in writing” on the Afrin assault.

Furthermore, Russia has voiced concern about a Turkish military operationin Afrin region, calling on the sides to exercise restraint.

Ankara views the YPG as the Syrian branch of the militant KurdistanWorkers’ Party (PKK) that has been fighting for an autonomous region insideTurkey since 1984.

Erdogan has repeatedly said that Afrin should be cleared of “terrorists,”and demanded the deployment of Turkish troops there during a speech back inNovember 2016.

This is while US officials consider the YPG as the most effective fightingforce against Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in northern Syria, and havesubstantially increased their weaponry and technology support to themilitant group.

The controversy over a possible Syria border force first started on January14 when a report emerged on Reuters saying that the so-called militarycoalition led by the United States in Syria was planning to set up a largeborder force of up to 30,000 personnel with the aid of its militia allies.