The Turkish forces advance again into Afrin countryside with the continuation of Operation “Olive Branch” backed by ongoing shelling and flight of Turkish warplanes

Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Afrin area in the north-western countryside of Aleppo, is witnessing continuation of the violent clashes between the YPG and the Self-Defense Forces against the rebel and Islamic factions and the Turkish forces, in areas in the north-western countryside of Afrin, and near the city, amid ongoing attack by the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation seeking to expand their control in the area, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Turkish forces managed to advance into Afrin countryside, and near the city and take the control of 3 villages, amid intensive exchange of targeting in the clash areas, in conjunction with the flight of warplanes over Afrin area carrying out strikes from time to time.

And 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, also 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.