“Olive Branch” Operation Forces escalate their attacks in Afrin area with aerial and artillery shelling target villages from northeast of it to its southwestern countryside

Afrin area in the northwestern part of Aleppo on the border with Turkey, is still witnessing targeting by “Olive Branch” Operation Forces, who continue the land and air targeting along with the continuous clashes and battles in the area, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored continuous violent clashes between the Turkish Forces and the rebel and Islamic factions against the Self-Defense Forces and YPG, in places in the areas of Hamam, Deir Ballut and Hajj Iskandar in Jendires Township at the southwestern countryside of Afrin, and another places in Kaddah area in the western countryside of Afrin city, amid advancement by “Olive Branch” Operation Forces, also the clashes continue between both parties in Sheikh Khorz area of Bulbula Township in the northern countryside of Afrin, and the clashes coincide with continued exchange of targeting in the clash areas between both parties, and information about more casualties in the ranks of both parties, where the Syrian Observatory documented significant casualties in the ranks of both parties during the first 22 days of Afrin clashes, where it rose to 148, the number of the fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in these clashes during 21 days of the military operations, while it has increased to 185, the number of the fighters and soldiers of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation who were killed in these clashes, including more than 27 soldiers of the Turkish forces including 2 pilots, while the others are fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions, and tens of members of the both parties were injured with varying severity, which may raise the death toll even more.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored the Turkish warplanes carrying out airstrikes again on areas in Jendires countryside southwest of Afrin, in conjunction with Turkish artillery and missile shelling targeted the clash areas and the areas of Dier al-Sawwan and Arab Wiran in the northeastern countryside of Afrin, amid shelling targeted villages of Kaddah, Mosaka, Shadia, Hamam and Haj Iskandar, but no information about casualties so far, and the Syrian Observatory documented the raise of the death toll of the Syrian citizens of the Kurds, Arabs and Armenians to 74 including 21 children and 13 citizen women, who are documented since the 20th of January 2018 and who were used to live in Afrin area or have been displaced to it in the past years, while tens others were injured with varying severity, including children and citizen women, some of the injuries have permanent disabilities.