The regime sends a new column of its forces to Afrin and the Turkish warplanes bomb areas in its north-western countryside with the ongoing fighting in the area
Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: places in Afrin city is witnessing strikes carried out by Turkish warplanes, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the warplanes targeted 2 villages related to Maabatli area, in the north-western countryside of Aleppo, which caused material damage, without information about casualties so far, while the SOHR monitored during the past few hours, the entry of a new column of the regime forces, within the continuation of the implementation of the agreement between the Kurdish forces and the regime forces, while the clashes are continuing in several areas in the northern and the western sections of Afrin countryside, between the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces against the rebel and Islamic factions and the Turkish forces, in an attempt by the Turkish forces to achieve further advancement in the area and impose their control over more areas, after they have controlled more than 15% of the total villages of Afrin until now, since Operation “Olive Branch” was launched by the Turkish forces on the 20th of January 2018.
And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday that the “Olive Branch” Operation forces managed to advance in the area and control more new 4 villages and reach the outskirts of Maydanki Lake north of Afrin, and thus they managed to control 53 villages and one town, which is Bulbola town, which is more than 15% of the villages of Afrin, and the SOHR also monitored the attempt of the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions operating in the area to link their areas of control north of Afrin with their areas of control in western part of Afrin, where only two pockets separate the Turkish forces and the factions from linking their areas of control with each other. The first pocket is located in Midan Ekbes area in the far northwest of Afrin (about 5 km long) and the other pocket is located between Jandayras area and Sheikh Hadeed (about 7 km long). If the “Olive Branch” operation forces managed to control these two pockets, they would be able to control about 150 km along the borders of Afrin and Turkey and Afrin and Iskenderun, expanding their areas of control on the border line to about 260 km extending from the western banks of the Euphrates River near Jarabulus area to Atma area in the southwest of Afrin.