| Schroedinger’s cat has nothing on the Syrian troops. |
[ALMASDARNEWS] According to the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for the Human Rights (SOHR), at least 550 people, including combatants, have been killed in the Afrin region since the start of Operation Olive Branch on January 20th.
Of the 550 killed in the Afrin region, this is the breakdown that was released by the SOHR:
- 39 Turkish Army soldiers have been killed
- 205 FSA rebels have been killed
- 219 YPG fighters have been killed
- 112 civilians have been killed
The Turkish General Staff’s numbers differ greatly from the SOHR’s stats, as the former claims that 1,700 YPG fighters have been killed.
Syrian pro-gov’t forces deny abandoning Afrin battle
[ALMASDARNEWS] A pro-government fighter from the National Defense Forces (NDF) in northern Aleppo told al-Masdar News on Tuesday night that all reports of the NDF abandoning the YPG in Afrin are false.
The NDF source added that if any unit left Afrin, it was likely temporary as most of the fighters come from the pro-government towns of al-Zahra’a and Nubl in northern Aleppo.
Many of the NDF fighters from al-Zahra’a and Nubl are close with the YPG in Afrin, as they provided them necessary aid during the jihadist siege from 2013-2016.
These NDF fighters in al-Zahra’a and Nubl had initially asked to aid the YPG once the
Pro-Assad terror groups withdraw from Afrin
[AA.TR] Pro-regime groups, who tried to enter Syria’s Afrin to support YPG/PKK-ISIS against
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s ongoing operation in the region, have withdrawn Tuesday before reaching the city following warning shots, according to reliable sources on the ground.
The pro-regime groups departed in the Nubl-al-Zahraa region, in southern Afrin, at around 5.00 p.m. (1400GMT) with the aim of supporting YPG/PKK-ISIS terror groups against Operation Olive Branch, said the source on condition of anonymity due to speaking to the media.
The militias tried to advance into the city with a convoy of 20 vehicles including armored vehicles with DShK heavy machine guns.
The withdrawal of the pro-Bashir al-Assad terror groups upon warning shot came when they were about 10 km (about 6 miles) away from Afrin, in northwestern Syria.
As the convoy moved ahead, artillery fire was used as a warning but did not hit any vehicles.
The movements of terrorist groups in Aleppo’s other regions towards Afrin are being monitored, the sources added.
On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK-ISIS bully boyz from Afrin.
Syria pro-government forces enter Afrin to aid Kurds against Turkey
[AlAhram] Pro-Syrian government forces entered Syria's northwestern Afrin region on Tuesday to help a Kurdish militia there fend off a
Soon after the convoy of militia fighters - waving Syrian flags and brandishing weapons - entered Afrin, Syrian state media reported that
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
had targeted them with shellfire.
Syrian television had earlier shown the group of fighters passing through a checkpoint that bore the insignia of the Kurdish security force, some chanting "one Syria, one Syria", and driving further into Afrin.
The YPG hailed the arrival of the pro-government forces - which included militias allied to Assad but not the Syrian army itself - and said they were deploying along the front line facing the
It made no mention of a deal that a Kurdish official said on Sunday had been struck with Assad's government for the Syrian army itself to enter Afrin.
YPG media adviser Rezan Hedo denied Erdogan's assertion that the convoy had turned back under
| In other words, everyone is right. Whew! |
| The poor darlings. |
The country’s dollar-denominated bonds also came under pressure, with longer-dated issues dropping 1 cent. The cost of insuring exposure to its sovereign debt rose.