Turkish-backed rebel advance within 2km of Afrin city: map
[ALMASDARNEWS] The
On Friday, the
According to pro-opposition media, the
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) captured the towns of Enab and Maryamin after a short battle with the YPG forces in the area.
Turkish military seizes control of Jinderes town in Syria's Afrin region: Anadolu
[ahram online] Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies seized control of the town of Jinderes on Thursday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, giving them control of one of the largest settlements in Syria's northwest Afrin region.
The Turkish army and its allies from Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions pushed fighters from the Syrian Kurdish YPG out of the town centre on Thursday following intense clashes, it said, adding that operations to secure the area were continuing.
Air raids on the Jinderes town centre had intensified after Turkish forces and the FSA captured the hill overlooking it a day earlier, Anadolu said.
Turkey and its allies have so far seized five of the seven urban centers in the Afrin region, it said.
Turkey launched its air and ground assault on Afrin, dubbed Operation Olive Branch, in January to drive out the YPG, which it sees as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has waged an insurgency on Turkish soil since 1984. The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday the operation will be completed by May.
On Tuesday, Kurdish-allied Syrian Arab militias said they are redeploying 1,700 fighters from fronts against Islamic State (IS) militants to the Afrin region to help fend off the Turkish offensive.
The United States, which has infuriated Turkey with its support for the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said Turkey's offensive on Afrin has diverted attention from the fight against IS.
Syrian Kurdish YPG militia denies Turkey has encircled Afrin center
[AhramOnline]The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia denied on Friday that Turkish troops had besieged Afrin town, after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the military had surrounded the center of Afrin.
"The forces of Erdogan's Turkish army ... are 10 to 15 km away from it," YPG spokesman Nouri Mahmoud said.
At least 68 Turkish soldiers killed in Afrin since January 20th[ALMASDARNEWS] At least 68 soldiers from the
In addition to the 68 soldiers killed, the SOHR alleged that 341 rebels were killed as well, raising the corpse count for the
Furthermore, the SOHR claimed that the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) 359 casualties, while their allies from the pro-government National Defense Forces (NDF) lost a total of 81 fighters.
The