The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Factions of the “Olive Branch” Operation carry out field executions in the countryside of Afrin, killing 7 persons including women

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained a copy of two videos from Afrin area northwest of Aleppo Province, where the first video shows 6 bodies thrown on the ground including citizen women, who were field-executed by the “Olive Branch” Operation in an area in Jendires Township southwest of Afrin, while the second video shows a field execution carried out by the same factions against an agricultural tractor driver, where he was shot dead north of Afrin, also the factions of “Olive Branch” Operation arrested a civilian woman in Maabatli area on charge of being a ” fighter of the Women Protection Unit”, these operations come in conjunction with the arrival of a delegation from al-Hasaka Province to Afrin via al-Ziyara crossing, where they were shelled by Turkish forces and their loyal factions hours ago, and the Syrian Observatory published then that areas located on the contact lines between the regime-held areas and the YPG-held areas are shelled by the “Olive Branch” Operation forces, in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory, the shelling targeted the area of Al-Zayyara, which is controlled by the Kurdish forces and located on the contact lines with the regime-held areas in the areas of Al-Nubl and Al-Zahraa. The area was shelled by the “Olive Branch” Operation forces stationed in Afrin area, where the fire were seen in the area of the shelling followed by shelling by the Kurdish forces on areas in the western countryside of Aleppo. Reliable sources said that the shelling is still ongoing heavily between both parties, and there is information about injuries in the ranks of the Kurdish forces. The sources stressed that the shelling targeted a column heading to enter Afrin area, which is witnessing violent battles since the 20th of January 2018.

And the SOHR monitored the renewed artillery and missile shelling of the Turkish forces on areas in the countryside of Afrin, where the shelling targeted areas in Jandairas town and its countryside and the areas located in the southwest of Afrin countryside, in conjunction with shelling of the Turkish warplanes on areas in the districts of Bulbula and Shara in the north and northeast of Afrin, amid shelling targeting Maydanki area, located north of Afrin, and the shelling resulted in the death of a civilians and injury of others with different severity, and the SOHR monitored the ongoing violent clashes taking place between the Self-Defense forces and the YPG against the rebel and Islamic factions and the Turkish forces in areas in the districts of Bolbola and Sheikh Hadeed and Raju, following repel attacks by each part on the positions of each other and their areas of control. The “Olive Branch” Operation forces managed to advance in the area and control more new 3 villages and thus they managed to control 56 villages and one town, which is Bulbola town, which is more than 16% of the villages of Afrin, and the SOHR also monitored the attempt of the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions operating in the area to link their areas of control north of Afrin with their areas of control in western part of Afrin, where only two pockets separate the Turkish forces and the factions from linking their areas of control with each other. The first pocket is located in Midan Ekbes area in the far northwest of Afrin (about 5 km long) and the other pocket is located between Jandayras area and Sheikh Hadeed (about 7 km long). If the “Olive Branch” operation forces managed to control these two pockets, they would be able to control about 150 km along the borders of Afrin and Turkey and Afrin and Iskenderun, expanding their areas of control on the border line to about 260 km extending from the western banks of the Euphrates River near Jarabulus area to Atma area in the southwest of Afrin.

The SOHR monitored that it has increased to 249, the number of the fighters and soldiers of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation who were killed since the 20th of January 2018, in these clashes including more than 39 soldiers of the Turkish forces. The SOHR also documented the increasing death toll of fighters of the Kurdish Units ranks who were killed since the 20th of January 2018, where it rose to 229, the number of fighters of the YPJ and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in these clashes and artillery and aerial shelling, including 2 fighters of European nationalities, where tens are injured with different severity, which may increase the death toll.