Threats from factions in “Olive Branch” Operation to head to Manbij and reach border of Syria with Iraq once they are done with Afrin

Aleppo Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the fighting in Afrin continues with the continuation of Turkish shelling and massacres against civilians who remained in the city, while other civilians continue displacing, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the continuation of shelling by Turkish forces and warplanes on areas in Afrin city, which caused a massacre of 8 citizens and their bodies remain under the rubble of destruction caused by the shelling, while reconnaissance planes and drones continue to fly and occasionally target the city and its surroundings, amid artillery and missile shelling on areas in the vicinity of the city and the villages remaining under the control of the Kurdish forces, while the displacement of the citizens continues, where they are trying to reach the towns of Nubl and Zahra; as well as areas in which the regime forces are spread in the northern countryside of Aleppo, amid constant fears for the lives of the remaining and for the lives of more than 200000 displaced people who live out in the open after their displacement from the city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also monitored the Turkish forces and the rebel and Islamic factions achieving more advancement and control more villages, and by that, the “Olive Branch” Operation has expand its control to about 87% of Afrin area, along with their advancement at the outskirts of the city and controlling new sites, in an attempt to go deep in the city from its western and northern sides, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received copies of audio recordings of commanders and members of the factions operating in the “Olive Branch” Forces; threatening to go to Manbij and the Syrian Jazeerah and reach al-Ya’rubiyah Crossing in the Syrian-Turkish-Iraqi border triangle when they are done with Afrin, while clashes are accompanied with renewed shelling which caused more human losses, where it rose to 456 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 441, 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 91 members at least of regime forces’ NDF were killed in the Turkish shelling since they started to enter on the 20th of February 2018.

And with the death of more citizens, it has increased to 289 including 43 children and 28 citizens, the number of civilians of the al-Kurds, Arabs and Armenians, who were killed in the Turkish aerial, artillery and missile shelling, and in executions against several citizens in Afrin area since the 20th of January 2018, also the shelling injured hundreds of citizens with varying severity, also fears are still prevailing for the lives of hundreds of thousands civilians exist in the city of Afrin and nearby villages, amid calls by these civilians through the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights to the international community to move to act against the Turkish massacres that began on Wednesday the 14th of March 2018, through heavy aerial and ground shelling on the city of Afrin which witnesses  the interruption of water, electricity and communications, by the Turkish forces for the 10th consecutive day, following their control over Midanki Dam on Midanki Lake in the northern countryside of Afrin city, and the interruption of water, electricity and communications is coincided with extreme shortage of flour and fuel in Afrin area, where the lines of citizens are ongoing before the only bakery remained in the city of Afrin, to receive bread which the city lacks, and reliable sources confirmed to the SOHR that some of the citizens that returned to their villages controlled by the Turkish forces, monitored that their property was robbed, including tractors, machineries and house contents.

High-resolution link of the map of advancement of the Turkish forces and factions of the “Olive Branch” Operation and their control of about 87% of Afrin area