The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

The forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation expand their control to about 17% of the total villages of Afrin and reach the outskirts of a strategic town in the south-west of the area in the wake of executions carried out by members of them

Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of the combat operations and the renewed shelling on Afrin area, in the north-western section of Aleppo province, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the violent clashes are still continuing between the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation against the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces, in areas in the northern and the western sections of Afrin countryside, and the SOHR monitored that the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions managed to advance and take the control of 2 villages from the side of the townships of Raju and Jendires in the north-west and the south-west of Afrin, expanding their control in the area to 58 villages and one town which is Bulbula town, with a percentage of 17% of the total villages of Afrin, and the Turkish forces managed to reach the outskirts of Jendires town, after they took the control of the last village separating between their forces and the factions participating in the operation, and only few hundreds of meters remain for them to reach Jendires town, amid intensive exchange of targeting and shelling on the clash areas between the both parties.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published last night, that it 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 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.