More than 6 weeks after the start of their attack…the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation enter the second town in Afrin area and take the control of parts of it

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of the violent clashes accompanied by renewed aerial and rocket shelling on Afrin area, in the north-western countryside of Afrin, where violent clashes are taking place between the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions against the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces, in areas in the western section of Afrin countryside, and the Syrian Observatory monitored that the Turkish forces and the factions managed to enter Raju town and take the control of parts of it, in this is the second town to be entered by the Turkish forces after Bulbula town which they managed to control few weeks ago, and the clashes are still continuing in Raju town in an attempt by the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation to complete their control over the town.

This fighting raised the death toll in the ranks of the both conflicting parties, where it has increased to 311 including 59 soldiers of the Turkish forces, the number of the members and fighters of the Turkish forces and the factions who were killed in the clashes against the Kurdish Units in Afrin area, while it rose to 281, the number of fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin countryside, also 2 member of the regime forces were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin, also hundreds of citizens, fighters and soldiers were injured with different severity, some of them have permanent disabilities, and the SOHR learned that the Turkish forces and warplanes renewed their targeting to positions of the regime forces “the Popular Defense Forces”, in Afrin area, which resulted in the death of more members of them raising to 22 members of these forces, who have been killed since they entered Afrin area on the 20th of February 2018, where they entered within an earlier agreement between the Kurdish forces and the regime forces which allows the latter’s forces to deploy in Afrin area which is witnessing an attack by the Turkish forces and Syrian opposition factions operating with them within the operation.

And in conjunction with the artillery and rocket shelling which targeted several areas in the north-eastern countryside of Afrin, targeting areas in Sharra Township, the areas of Raju and Jendires witnessed continuation of the combat operations in Jendires area, in the south-western countryside of Afrin, and they managed to take the control of 2 new villages, raising to 82 villages and only one town (Bulbula), with a percentage of about 23% 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 after the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation managed to achieve strategic advancement 4 days ago, and linked the controlled areas of the factions and the Turkish forces operating in the “Euphrates Shield” Operation in the northern and the north-eastern countryside of Aleppo, Idlib province and the western countryside of Aleppo, through a border line stretched from the north and west of Afrin, and reaches areas mentioned above.