On the 25th of Operation “Olive Branch”… new targeting to service constructions in Afrin city by the Turkish forces leaves injuries and wounded
About 450 citizens, fighters and soldiers were killed in Afrin during 25 days of ongoing fighting, bombardment, exchange of targeting and ambushes
Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: explosions rocked Afrin city and its vicinity this morning, Tuesday the 13th of February 2018, as a result of shelling it, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored shelling by the Turkish forces by artillery and rocket shelling, targeting areas in Afrin city and its outskirts, where reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the shelling resulted in the death of one person at least and the injury of other citizens, and confirmed information about more casualties as a result of this shelling, in which some of its shells targeted the entrance of Afrin Hospital and its vicinity, and this targeting is coincided with violent clashes between the YPG and the Self-Defense against the rebel and Islamic factions and the Turkish forces, in areas in the northern and the north-eastern countryside of Afrin, where the clashes were concentrated in Shikhorzah area and in places in Sa’arnjka area in the townships of Bulbula and Sharra, amid intensive exchange of targeting, accompanied by Turkish shelling on other areas in Afrin.
While this targeting to the hospital which is a service construction in the city, and works on relieving and treating the wounded of the shelling, after targeting vital constructions and archaeological sites, and the warplanes targeted Maydanki Dam “the 17th of Nisan Dam” causing material damage, amid tension and fears of citizens for destroying the dam which would flood large spaces of Afrin, and the warplanes carried out several raids since Operation “Olive Branch” was launched on the 20th of January 2018, on 3 archeological sites, which are Deir Messhmesh area in the south-east of Afrin, Al-Nabi Hori area in the north-east of Afrin, and Ein Dara archeological area in the south of Afrin, and the strikes resulted in material damage in the areas of Deir Messhmesh and Al-Nabi Hori, and caused great destruction to Ein Dara area, and this intensive shelling on Afrin area which is semi-besieged, and the targeting of the archeological sites by the Turkish warplanes, caused rage among locals, who accused the Turkish forces of an attempt to eliminate the archeological sites that represent the civilizations in the area of Afrin.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the number of casualties is increasing, as a result of the ongoing fighting between the Kurdish forces against the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation, where it rose to 163, the number of the fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in these clashes during 24 days of the military operations, while it has increased to 211, the number of the fighters and soldiers of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation who were killed in these clashes, including more than 34 casualties 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, including at least 208, those who were killed since the beginning of change of power balance on the 31st of January 2018. They are at least 25 soldiers of the Turkish forces, while at least 115 fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions operating within the “Olive Branch” Operation Forces, while at least 73 fighters of the YPG were killed in the same military operations in Afrin area. The forces of “Olive Branch” operation managed since the beginning of the operation until now to advance and control Bulbula town and 15 villages, they are: ((Kanye, Khalilah in Sheikh Hadid Township in the west of Afrin, the villages of Mamlu Oshagli, Amra, Ali Beska, Edmanli in Rajo Township in the western countryside of Afrin, Shenkali village in the north-west of Afrin, and the villages of Bekah, Alikar, Abudan, Za’rah, Daru, Qarnah in the northern countryside of Afrin, and Jabal Barsaya – Qastal Jandu in the north-eastern countryside of Afrin)), and the Syrian Observatory documented the raise of the death toll of the Syrian citizens of the Kurds, Arabs and Armenians to 75 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.