The Turkish forces shell Afrin city and the violent fighting continues in the fronts of the western section between the Kurdish forces against the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation

Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Turkish shelling is continuing on places in Afrin city, which caused material damage, without information about casualties while the violent clashes are continuing between the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces against the rebel and Islamic factions and the Turkish forces, in areas in the western and the north-western sections of Afrin area, as a part of the operations of the Turkish forces to achieve further advancement in the area, and impose their control over more areas after they managed to take the control of about 21% of the total villages of Afrin, and the Turkish forces and the factions are seeking to achieve advancement after they reached the outskirts of Jendires town, in the south-western countryside of Afrin, amid intensive exchange of targeting in the clash areas, and confirmed information about more human losses in the ranks of the both parties.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published this morning that it monitored that the Turkish forces backed by the rebel and Islamic factions, managed to achieve advancement and take the control of several villages in the north-western part of Afrin, linking their controlled areas in the northern border of Afrin with Turkey, to their controlled areas in the western border of Afrin with Iskenderun, thus, the Turkish border control has been expanded from the side of Syria, to about 105 km from the area of Jabal Barsaya in the north-western countryside of Afrin to Sheikh Hadid area in the western section of the area, while only 7 km are still remaining between Sheikh Hadid and Jendires countryside, to complete the control over the entire border area of Afrin with the Turkish border in the north and Iskenderun area in the west.

This advancement of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation expanded the Turkish border control inside Syria, and Turkey became in control of more than 200 km stretched from Jendires to Sheikh Hadidin the west of Afrin, while the clashes are accompanied by intensive shelling by the Turkish forces, by artillery shells and missiles in addition to bombardment by warplanes and helicopters, on places in the area, and the Turkish forces and their allied factions managed to expand their control to 70 villages and only one town (Bulbula), with a percentage of 21% of the total villages of Afrin, and the Turkish forces managed to reach the outskirts of the strategic towns of Jendires and Raju, and only few hundreds of meters remain for them to reach Jendires town, and the clashes are accompanied by intensive exchange of targeting in the clash areas between the both parties, and confirmed information about human losses in the ranks of the both parties, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored that the pace of the Turkish aerial and artillery shelling on Afrin area, increased after forces of the regime started to enter it on the 20th of February 2018, following an agreement between the Kurdish forces and the regime forces, where Afrin area witnessed tens of airstrikes and shelling by hundreds of rocket and artillery shells, which targeted the townships of Jendires, Sheikh Hadid, Raju, Maabatli, Bulbula, Sharra, Afrin city and other places in the area, while the Turkish forces managed to achieve wide advancement, where they have taken the control of 25 villages at least since the forces of the regime entered Afrin, which equals more than a third of the total areas the Turkish forces have controlled, since the start of Operation “Olive Branch” during its first month, and the SOHR also documented more human losses in the ranks of the both parties, where it has increased to 248, the number of fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin countryside, while it rose to 262 including 40 soldiers of the Turkish forces, the number of the members and fighters of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation who were killed in the clashes against the Kurdish Units in Afrin city, also hundreds of citizens, fighters and soldiers were injured with different severity, some of them have permanent disabilities.