A violent attack on the Townships of Rajo and Jendires and Turkish forces to cause casualties by shelling positions of forces of the regime in Afrin

Aleppo Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the escalated shelling continues in Afrin area, which is witnessing continuous military operations between the Kurdish and Turkish Forces, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that warplanes renewed the targeting of areas in Rajo Township and the northeastern countryside of Afrin, in conjunction with the intensive Turkish shelling on places in Afrin area, and on the contact lines between them and between the force of the regime, YPG and Self-Defense Forces, the Syrian Observatory learned that the shelling caused injuries in the ranks of the regime forces “regime’s Popular Defense Forces” in the western countryside of Afrin, and information about killing several of them, while clashes are taking place at a pace violent between the Self-Defense Forces and YPG against the Turkish Forces and the rebel and Islamic factions, after a violent attack by the latter on the area, trying to advance more and control more areas in the Townships of Rajo and Jendires, having managed to reach the outskirts of Jendires and the town of Rajun, also clashes are taking place in Sharra Township in the northeastern countryside of Afrin to achieve more advancement in the area, and the clashes are accompanied by exchange of targeting in the clash areas between both parties, amid confirmed information about casualties.

Turkish forces and their supporting factions have been able to expand their control to 65 villages and only one town (Bulbula), with a percentage of 19% of the total villages of Afrin, and the Turkish forces managed to reach the outskirts of the strategic towns of Jendires and Raju, and only few hundreds of meters remain for them to reach Jendires town, and the clashes are accompanied by intensive exchange of targeting in the clash areas between the both parties.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the pace of the Turkish aerial and artillery shelling on Afrin area, increased after forces of the regime started to enter it on the 20th of February 2018, following an agreement between the Kurdish forces and the regime forces, where Afrin area witnessed tens of airstrikes and shelling by hundreds of rocket and artillery shells, which targeted the townships of Jendires, Sheikh Hadid, Raju, Maabatli, Bulbula, Sharra, Afrin city and other places in the area, while the Turkish forces managed to achieve wide advancement, where they have taken the control of 17 villages at least since the forces of the regime entered Afrin, which equals more than a quarter of the total areas the Turkish forces have controlled, since the start of Operation “Olive Branch” during its first month, and the SOHR also documented more human losses in the ranks of the both parties, where it has increased to 243, the number of fighters of the YPG and the Self-Defense forces who were killed in the shelling and clashes in Afrin countryside, while it rose to 259 including 40 soldiers of the Turkish forces, the number of the members and fighters of the forces of the “Olive Branch” Operation who were killed in the clashes against the Kurdish Units in Afrin city, also hundreds of citizens, fighters and soldiers were injured with different severity, some of them have permanent disabilities.