ANKARA – “Turkish forces and related groups tried to cross over to theterritory of the Syrian city of Afrin with the support of the Air Force andmissile strikes. However, the Syrian Democratic Forces struck at fivepositions,” Osman said, Sputnik has reported.
As a result, Turkish forces “had to retreat from the territory of Afrin,”the Syrian Kurds’ representative in Moscow said. “Those areas to which theycrossed, they left, as the Kurds struck and forced them to retreat,” Osmansaid.
According to the representative, a total of 17 civilians have been killedand 28 injured as clashes and airstrikes are underway in Afrin.
Earlier in the day, he stated that 10 Turkish soldiers and about 20 relatedgroups were killed during the fighting.
However, according to Anadolu news agency, the Armed Forces of Turkey,with the support of the Free Syrian Army, have established control over 11positions taken from Kurdish forces during the day of the militaryoperation in the Afrin enclave in northern Syria.
Using tanks and air support, the Turkish army has occupied the settlementsof Shankal, Korne, Bali, Ada, Manli, the agricultural regions of Kit,Cordoba and Bibno, as well as four hills in the Afrin area.The soldiers of the Free Syrian Army in the military operation against theSyrian Kurds in the north of the country, and have issued a video messageto the local population.
“You are our friends and our family. We are here to put an end to thepersecution. Our enemy is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),” the messagesays.
The Turkish Operation in Africa in the north of Syria dubbed the “OliveBranch” began on Saturday with air raids and shelling. On Sunday, it movedto the ground phase with the use of tanks and other armored vehicles.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that his troops willdestroy the Kurdish militia in Syria, which is supported by the UnitedStates. Syria’s President Asad has condemned the Turkish “brutal attack “and accused Ankara of supporting terrorism.