New pro-government troops entered the Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Wednesday to support local militias against the Turkish operation in the northwestern region of Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The new development came a day after several "People's Forces" convoys arrived in Afrin as part of an agreement with the People's Protection Units (YPG) to "protect" the enclave, the Observatory and Kurdish officials said.
"Dozens of militants loyal to the regime have entered the Afrin area," Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Observatory, said on Wednesday.
Ankara, which launched Operation Olive Branch in Afrin on January 20th, said yesterday that it considered a "legitimate target" any group rushing to assist the YPG, "a terrorist organization", according to her.
Shortly after their arrival in Afrin on Tuesday, the first pro-government forces were targeted by the Turkish artillery, SANA news agency reported.
The Syrian News Agency reported today that "new units of the People's Forces have arrived in Afrin to support its residents against the aggression of the Turkish regime."
Official Syrian media describe the pro-government fighters as "people's forces", while the YPG refers to "military forces" sent by the Syrian government to deploy along the border with Turkey.
According to the Observatory, Turkish forces and Ankara-backed Syrian rebel groups have occupied 49 border areas but have so far failed to penetrate deeper into Afrin.
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