The airstrikes target the vicinity of Afrin city with renewing the fighting in order to encircle and separate it with the continuation of the interruption of electricity, water and telecommunications in Afrin by the Turkish forces

Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Turkish warplanes are continuing to fly over Afrin area in conjunction with renewing the combat operations in areas in Afrin countryside, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Turkish warplanes carried out strikes targeting places in the vicinity of Afrin city which the Turkish forces became at its outskirts, amid renewed violent clashes between the Turkish forces and their allied rebel and Islamic factions against the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces, in areas in the east, north and south-west of Afrin city, where the Kurdish forces managed to advance again in Qibar area and take the control of positions in it, where clashes are taking place in the area, in conjunction with clashes and an attempt by the Turkish forces to advance in the south-western countryside of Afrin within their operation to advance towards the city even more, and advance and meet with their forces to impose a full siege on Afrin city and the surrounding villages as well as the villages that are still under the control of the Kurdish forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of the Turkish artillery shelling on several areas in Afrin countryside, while the Turkish forces are trying to achieve further advancement enable them to expand their control after they were able to impose their control over about 38% of the total villages of Afrin, while fears have increased over the lives of the citizens in the Kurdish forces’ controlled areas are increasing, as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published last night, that the Self-Management in Afrin and rest of the areas that are controlled by the Kurdish forces called for demonstrations in front of embassies, institutions and government headquarters condemning the Turkish attack and demanding them to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Afrin area, of which Turkey is seeking to besiege it by advancing from the east and southwest of Afrin and meet, to complete the siege of Afrin city and surrounding villages and the villages that are still under the control of the Kurdish Forces in Afrin countryside, and separate them from the rest of the Syrian areas completely, where many European cities witnessed Saturday evening demonstrations and sit-ins by Syrian Kurdish citizens demanding a European move to pressure Turkey and stop the military operation, coincided with demonstrations in several cities in Al-Hasaka Province condemning the Turkish attack and demanding to save the lives of civilians, in the same time a leader from one of the cities north of Aleppo and near Afrin has confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that they are ready to protect the civilians who want to come out of Afrin, and that Turkey has opened passages for those who want to get out of them.

Also the area of Afrin located in the north-western section of Aleppo province, is still witnessing continuation of the interruption of water and electricity, after the Turkish forces tended to cut them off after they were able to control a strategic facility, which is Midanki Dam, a Dam that provides wide areas of Afrin with electricity and water, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published that aerial bombardment operations, violent ground clashes and tragic humanitarian conditions are worsening every day, with the Turkish attack narrowing the cycle of death, after more than 1 million persons have gathered in Afrin city and in villages around it, fleeing a death they fear that it may chase them to the place of their displacement, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the Turkish Forces being able to control a strategic facility, which is Midanki Dam, a Dam that provides wide areas of Afrin with electricity and water, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from several reliable sources that the Turkish Forces have cut off the power of Midanki Dam, aka “17 Nisan”, and also cut off the water which added a new human tragedy to the dire humanitarian conditions of hundreds of thousands of people living in Afrin, amid Turkish killing for the inhabitants of the area and the people who displaced to it, following Turkish aerial and ground targeting for telecommunication towers and the cut off of communications in most of Afrin area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 204 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, while it rose to 418 including 71 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 391, the number of fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin countryside, since the start of Operation “Olive Branch”, while 81 members at least of regime forces’ NDF were killed in the Turkish shelling since they started to enter on the 20th of February 2018.

High resolution link of the map of the advancement of the Operation “Olive Branch” forces in Afrin area and their approach to Afrin city