The battles rage in Afrin countryside and the intense shelling and more casualties raise the death toll to more than 400 civilians and fighters who were killed in Operation “Olive Branch”
Aleppo Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: clashes continue in the contact areas between YPG and the Self-Defense forces against the rebel and Islamic factions and Turkish Forces, in areas in the northern and southwestern countryside of Afrin in conjunction with clashes in the western countryside, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the violent clashes between both parties concentrating in Kaddah areas in Rajo Township in the western section of Afrin countryside, and other places in the areas of Hamam and Deir Ballut in the southwestern countryside of Afrin, coincided with clashes in Sheik Khorz area in Bulbula Township in the northern countryside of Afrin, amid heavy and intense exchange of shelling and targeting between both parties, where the clashes escalated after the Turkish helicopter was shot down in the sky of Kaddah area in Rajo Township by targeting by machineguns by the Kurdish Units.
These violent clashes caused significant casualties among both parties, and since the 20th of January 2018 until now it rose to 148, the number of the fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in these clashes during 21 days of the military operations, while it has increased to 185, the number of the fighters and soldiers of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation who were killed in these clashes, including more than 27 soldiers of the Turkish forces including 2 pilots, while the others are fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions, and tens of members of the both parties were injured with varying severity, which may raise the death toll even more.
Also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 4 citizens in the past 24 hours, one of them is in Arab Wiran village and the rest of them were in a village in al-Sheikh Hadid Township, rising the death toll of the Syrian citizens of the Kurds, Arabs and Armenians to 74 including 21 children and 13 citizen women, who are documented since the 20th of January 2018 and who were used to live in Afrin area or have been displaced to it in the past years, while tens others were injured with varying severity, including children and citizen women, some of the injuries have permanent disabilities.