The intensive Turkish shelling cuts off communications from Afrin and a the Turkish military operation traps more than one million people in Afrin city and villages in its vicinity
Fears for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Afrin’s residents after the death and injury of hundreds of them during 47 days of Turkish killing against them
The pace of the combat operations in Afrin area escalates, with escalating the deteriorated humanitarian situation in this geographical area located in the north-western section of Aleppo province, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Turkish aerial and ground shelling has escalated, by the continuous flight of the Turkish warplanes over Afrin area, and carrying out renewed raids from time to time on areas on the contact lines between the Turkish forces and the Kurdish forces, and other areas in the middle of Afrin, and this bombardment is coincided with another Turkish artillery and rocket shelling, targeting the same areas, at a violent pace all day and night, within the killing and destruction carried out against the residents of Afrin area, which includes more than 500 thousand Syrian displaced people of the Arab component from Aleppo province and the other Syrian provinces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored during the past few hours, Turkish aerial and rocket strikes targeting Afrin area, and the shelling was concentrated in the northern and the western sections of Afrin, as well as other places in the middle of the area, in conjunction with violent fighting between the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions against the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces, in areas in Sharra Township in the north-eastern countryside of Afrin, where the clashes are concentrated in Kafr Janna area which the Turkish forces advanced into this morning, and they took the control of the camp located in it, and the violent fighting is also concentrated in the outskirts of Jendires town in the south-western countryside of Afrin, in an attempt by the Turkish forces to expand their control in the area, within the scope of Operation “Olive Branch” which they launched on the 20th of January 2018, aiming to impose their control over Afrin, the SOHR also monitored that the intensive Turkish shelling has trapped more than one million Syrian citizens of the residents of Afrin area and those who have displaced to it, in Afrin city and villages in its vicinity, where the citizens tend to flee from the intensive shelling to Afrin city and the nearby villages, although these areas are also shelled from time to time.
The fears for the lives of the citizens have increased, after intersected sources tolled the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that the Turkish shelling targeted the communication towers during the past 24 hours, which resulted in interruption of the communication networks and the Internet almost completely, with deteriorating the humanitarian conditions of the citizens and the lack of medicines and food, as a result of the mass escape of the families from their houses, and as a result of their gathering all in a small geographical area in the center of Afrin, and the raids and the aerial and ground shelling, also resulted in killing and injuring hundreds of citizens, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented the death of 185 Syrian citizens of the Kurds, Arabs and Armenians, including 30 children and 25 women, who were killed in the Turkish aerial, rocket and artillery shelling, and executions carried out against citizens in Afrin area, since the 20th of January 2018, where the number of casualties has increased after extracting more bodies stuck under the rubble of destruction in Jendires area and other areas in Afrin countryside, and the shelling resulted in resulted in the injury of hundreds of citizens with varying severity, and the missing of others, while some of injured cases have permanent disabilities, and the total death toll includes 69 civilian casualties including 7 children and 7 women, who have been killed since the UNSC resolution was issued, while more than 337 others were injured with varying severity, including tens of children and women.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored the escalation of the number of the human losses in the ranks of the conflicting parties, where it rose to 369 including 68 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 331, the number of fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin countryside, also hundreds of citizens, fighters and soldiers were injured with different severity, some of them have permanent disabilities, and the Turkish Forces after advancing in Sharra Township and its areas; have become hundreds of meters away of Midanki Dam aka “17 Nisan”, which is of a strategic importance to the area, which was previously subjected to Turkish aerial bombardments that caused damage to the dam area, which is located about 10 km away of Afrin city, and the Turkish forces and the Syrian opposition factions also imposed their control on 100 villages and towns including 2 towns (Raju and Bulbula), and most of Sheikh Hadid town as well as large parts of Sharra town, the number of towns and villages controlled by the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation since the 20th of January 2018, which equivalent to about 29% of the total towns and villages of Afrin.