With the participation of the attacking helicopters… the Turkish forces and the factions fight desperately to achieve a “victory” and impose their control on Raju town west of Afrin

Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the violent clashes are still continuing west of Afrin between the YPG and the Self-Defense forces against the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions participating in the “Olive Branch” Operation, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored that the clashes are concentrated in Raju Township where the Turkish forces and the factions managed to achieve advancement in the area and take the control of positions and heights there, while they fight desperately to achieve advancement and impose their firearm control over Raju town, in order to achieve a “moral victory”, after the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation failed during this week to achieve important advancement.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the participation of the Turkish helicopters in the combat operations targeting the clash areas, in conjunction with intensive artillery and rocket shelling which targeted areas in Raju Township and other places in the north and the west of Afrin, in conjunction with the ongoing fighting in several areas on the border line between Afrin and Turkey, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published few hours ago, that it has documented that the number of the fighters who were killed has increased to 59 fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces, while it has increased to 69 at least, the number of the fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions operating within the “Olive Branch” Operation, including 7 soldiers of the Turkish forces who have been killed in the clashes since the 20th of January 2018, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained information about the presence of more casualties in the ranks of the both parties, which may raise the death toll, while the factions captured today a fighter of the YPG in the clashes which took places in Raju Township.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has also documented during a week of the “Olive Branch” Operation, the death of 36 citizens including 10 children and 4 women, they were killed by the Turkish aerial, artillery and rocket shelling on several areas of Afrin located in the north-western countryside of Aleppo, and the number of casualties may increase because of the presence of tens of injuries, some of them have seriously wounded.