The Turkish army and Syrian rebel groups fighting on its side reached the Syrian city of Afrin on Saturday, a stronghold of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara intends to expel from the Syrian-Turkish border area. according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkey has launched a large-scale operation against the YPG, a "terrorist" group, in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northwestern Syria, Aleppo province, since January 20th.
"Turkish forces are now on the outskirts of the city of Afrin after taking control (of the camp) of the 135th Brigade," a facility where YPG members are being trained, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Rights.
"They are less than two kilometers northeast of Afrin, northeast of the city," he said, adding that fighting continued, as did airstrikes and artillery bombardment.
The NGO spoke of "fierce fighting on other fronts, where Turkish forces and their allies are trying to advance in order to be able to encircle the city."
The Syrian rebel groups that the Turkish forces have on their side reported the occupation of a hill that "supervises" the eastern part of the city of Afrin.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish forces could enter Afrin "at any time."
Turkish soldiers and pro-Syrian rebels have claimed to have captured the community of Jandairis, about XNUMX kilometers southwest of Afrin.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Turkish forces now control more than 60% of the Afrin enclave.
The same NGO estimates that so far the Turkish operation in northern Syria has claimed the lives of at least 204 civilians. The Turkish military denies this and assures that it is taking "all precautions" to avoid casualties among the civilian population.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 370 Kurdish fighters and 340 members of the Turkish and pro-Turkish forces have also been killed (1).
According to the Turkish General Staff, 42 Turkish soldiers have been killed so far.
Erdogan said on Saturday, according to the Turkish news agency Anatoli, that 3.213 "terrorists" had been "neutralized" during the operation dubbed "Oil Sector". The term he apparently used includes dead, wounded and prisoners (2).
Observers warn that the attack on the city of Afrin could have devastating consequences for the thousands of civilians still there.
The invasion would be extremely difficult: YPG elements are fortified inside the city. Kurdish fighters announced last week that they had rushed 1.700 of their own to the enclave. While the Syrian regime sent men to the area to support the YPG.
"Syrian government forces have deployed anti-aircraft defenses in the area to protect areas controlled north of the city of Aleppo," said the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
President Erdogan said on Saturday that the Turkish operation would be extended to the border with Iraq and the city of Kombani, which has a particularly strong symbolism for the Kurds.
"After clearing the terrorists from Afrin," Erdogan said, "we will clear them from Manbij, Ain al-Arab (the name of the company in Arabic), Tal Abyad, Ras al-Ain and "Kamisli," Erdogan said during a speech in Mersin, southern Turkey. "Wherever there are terrorists, we will go there," he insisted.
The Turkish military operation in northern Syria has further escalated tensions between Ankara and Washington, which considers Syrian Kurdish rebels one of its main allies in Syria and acknowledges that they played a key role in the fight against IS jihadists.