About 30 casualties and wounded in aerial targeting to Afrin countryside raise to more than 1050 the number of the people killed during 7 weeks of Operation “Olive Branch”
Violent clashes accompanied by intensive Turkish aerial and ground shelling witnessed in the north of Afrin and Jendires countryside between the Turkish forces and the factions against the Kurdish forces
Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Operation “Olive Branch” is continuing in Afrin area in the north-western section of Aleppo countryside, completing its 7th consecutive week, since it was launched on the 20th of January 2018, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored bombardment by warplanes targeting areas in Kafr Safrah village near Jendires in the south-western countryside of Afrin and other areas related to Bulbula Township in the northern countryside of Afrin as well as Maryamin village and other areas in the northern and eastern countryside of Afrin, which resulted in the death of 2 citizens and the injury of 27 others with varying severity in Maryamin village, while information was reported about casualties and wounded in the bombardment which targeted Kafr Safrah village near Jendires, raising the death toll to 201 Syrian citizens of the Kurds, Arabs and Armenians, including 32 children and 26 women, who were killed in the Turkish aerial, rocket and artillery shelling, and executions carried out against citizens in Afrin area, since the 20th of January 2018, and the shelling resulted in resulted in the injury of hundreds of citizens with varying severity, and the missing of others, while some of injured cases have permanent disabilities.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored violent clashes taking place between the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions against the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces, in areas in the countryside of Bulbula town and in the vicinity of Kafr Safrah village, and the SOHR monitored that the Turkish forces managed to achieve advancement in 2 villages in the north and the north-western countryside of Afrin, after they managed yesterday to impose their control over Jendires in the south-western countryside of Afrin, after intensive and violent shelling by the Turkish forces and warplanes and after destroying the town, and with this advancement, the Turkish forces have imposed their control over the main five towns (Jendires, Sharra, Raju, Bulbula and Sheikh Hadid), in addition to their control over more than 114 villages since the start of the Operation “Olive Branch” on the 20th of January 2018, thus, they became in control of about 34% of the total villages of Afrin.
It also rose to 409 including 68 soldiers of the Turkish forces, the number of the members and fighters of the Turkish forces and the factions who were killed in the clashes against the Kurdish Units in Afrin area, while it rose to 359, the number of fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin countryside, since the start of Operation “Olive Branch”, while 81 members at least of regime forces’ NDF were killed in the Turkish shelling since they started to enter on the 20th of February 2018, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday that it monitored the arrival of military reinforcements of materiel and weapons to Afrin area this evening, they came from areas controlled by the Syria Democratic Forces east of Syria, in support of YPG’s attempts to repel the Turkish Forces and their loyal Syrian factions of the “Olive Branch” Operation, which was announced by Turkey on the 20th of January 2018.