The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

The Turkish forces take the control of Jandairis after intensive aerial and rocket shelling, and more than one million people in Afrin suffer from tragic humanitarian conditions

The Turkish forces and warplanes kill them…the regime forces prevent them to displace…an unknown destiny faces more than one million people as a siege approached to be imposed on Afrin

Afrin area in the north-western section of Aleppo province, is witnessing continuation of the military operations in it, within the ongoing operation of “Olive Branch” which was launched by the Turkish forces on the 20th of January 2018, in an attempt to impose their control over Afrin area, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Turkish forces backed by their allied Syrian opposition factions managed to impose their full control over Jandairis town located in the south-western countryside of Afrin, after intensive and violent shelling by the Turkish forces and warplanes and after destroying the town, and with this advancement, the Turkish forces have imposed their control over the main five towns (Jandairis, Sharra, Raju, Bulbula and Sheikh Hadid), and they are trying now to advance in Maabatli, in addition to their control over more than 112 villages since the start of the Operation “Olive Branch” on the 20th of January 2018.

These military operations and daily escalation by the Turkish forces and warplanes come with deteriorating the humanitarian situation day after day and hour after another, as more than one million people in Afrin city and in surrounding villages, suffer from interruption of water and electricity in addition to the cut off of communications in most of the area, this cycle of death and those fleeing a death that chased them to their houses and the places where they presented, face an unknown destiny amid approaching to impose a siege by the Turkish forces on them, in conjunction with significant difficulties about the displacement of the citizens from Afrin area to the regime’s controlled areas in Aleppo, where the checkpoints of the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them still impose tributes range from 1000$ to 2200$ on a single person.

We in the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights calls on the UN to open a humanitarian crossing through the regime’s controlled areas towards Aleppo city, through which more than one million people can survive, with approaching to impose a siege by the Turkish forces on and in the light of escalating the aerial and ground shelling, by the Turkish forces and warplanes as well as the factions of Operation “Olive Branch”.

And the military operation announced by the Turkish forces resulted in the death of 199 Syrian citizens of the Kurds, Arabs and Armenians, including 32 children and 26 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, 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 6 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.