“Olive Branch” Turkish operation claims the lives of 18 civilians in Afrin within its first 24 hours
Aleppo province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:: the Turkish aerial shelling on Afrin area in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo, in conjunction with artillery shelling target villages and towns in the area, causing casualties of Syrian civilians, where the SOHR monitored a massacre carried out by the Turkish warplanes targeting Madjanah in Jelbara area in Shirawa district in southeast of Afrin city, causing the death of 8 civilians including at least a child, and destruction of the place of shelling, where teams are rescuing civilians under the rubbles, caused by the aerial shelling, and the SOHR documented of 3 civilian citizens, 2 of them are from Marimeen village and the latter in Diwa village, rising to at least 18 citizens including 2 children, the death toll documented by the SOHR, whose death happened within 24 hours of “Olive Branch” operation, launched by Turkey in participation of the rebel and Islamic factions backed by Turkey, and the shelling left several people injured, some of whom are in serious condition, which may increase the death toll.
The clashes are still ongoing between the SDF against the Turkish forces and their allied factions in areas in the northern countryside of Afrin with the Turkish borders and the western countryside of Afrin with the borders of Iskenderun.
The SOHR monitored during the past hours the expansion of clashes, which increased to 6 areas, Shinkal, Hamam, Balia, Kurdo, Gharbala, and Ada Many, where the Turkish forces and the factions controlled the villages of Shenkal and Ada Many and captured 3 fighters of the SDF, where the clashes are accompanied by exchange of targeting between both parties, that left material damage, and caused human losses in the ranks of both parties. It noteworthy that Afrin area is almost besieged by the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions operating with them in “Olive Branch” Operation, except for a passage to Aleppo city through the regime-held areas in Nubol and Al-Zahraa, Afrin area witnessed months ago repeated shelling by the Turkish forces which managed through the last 2 months to hold their positions in the vicinity of Afrin area, and the outskirts of the Kurdish forces controlled areas, after they entered to the areas and carried out reconnaissance operations in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, in order to determine the best place of their positions, and their tours were accompanied and protected by Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham, which secured their entry and their reconnaissance operations to hold their positions.