The Turkish escalation on Afrin and the north of Aleppo completes its first week with ongoing military movements to start an operation against the SDF in the area
The escalation of the artillery and rocket shelling by the Turkish forces on Afrin area, has been completed its first week, since it started on the 13th of January 2018, and this week witnessed daily shelling on the controlled areas of the Syria Democratic Forces in Afrin an the north-western countryside of Aleppo, which resulted in the fall of casualties, and caused material damage to the property of the citizens, and this shelling coincided with military movement in the Turkish side of the border with Afrin, in the frame of the accelerated preparations carried out by the Turkish forces to carry out a military operation against the SDF in Afrin area.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Turkish forces carried out shelling which sometimes coincided with shelling by the rebel and Islamic factions operating with them within “The Euphrates Shield” Operation, and this shelling targeted the areas of Basoufan and Dakmidash and the hills of Bedir Khan, Hawazan, Bashur Bakhtiar and Baniin Shirawa area as well as other places in Jendires area and Raju Township, in conjunction with shelling targeted the areas of Kafr Janna, Sheikh Khurzah, Jisr Hashraka and Qastal Jendo, which are all located in Afrin area, as well as the SDF-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, which contains Bailuniyyah, Ein Daqneh, Al-Malikiyah, Shawarjah, Basoufan, Hasya, Kafr Nasih, Tel Jijan, Shaykh Issa, and other areas in this countryside, and this shelling during the past days, resulted in the injury of 3 children including 2 children, while a fighter of the SDF was killed in this shelling, and this shelling was met in some areas by a response by the SDF which targeted positions of the Turkish forces on the border line, while the Turkish forces expanded their scope of shelling through targeting the western countryside of the city of Ayn Al-Arab (Kobani) and targeting Al-Malikiyah area “Dayrik” in the border triangle of Syria, Iraq and Turkey.
In the same context, the SDF targeted the controlled areas of the rebel and Islamic factions in the northern countryside of Aleppo by several rounds of shelling, the last one was targeting a psychiatric and mental hospital in Azzaz city in the northern countryside of Aleppo, during the last night, which injured 14 persons at least most of them are patients, and the shelling caused material damage to the instruments and the equipment of the hospital, and information about being out of service due to the material damage to the building and equipment of the hospital.
It is noteworthy that Afrin area witnessed repeated shelling in the past few months by the Turkish forces which turned during the past two months hold their control over points where they can be presented in the vicinity of Afrin area, and in the outskirts of the YPG-held areas, after they entered the area and carried out reconnaissance operations in Idlib and Aleppo countryside, in order to determine the most suitable place, and these rounds took place with the accompanying and the protection of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham which secured the entry of the Turkish forces and their reconnaissance to the area, until they hold their points.