ISTANBUL - 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 the northwest Afrin region.



Turkey's armed forces and its allies from Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions pushed the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia forces out of the town center on Thursday after capturing a hill overlooking the town a day earlier, Anadolu said, adding that operations to secure the area were continuing. </s> A Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter gestures after Free Syrian Army forces took control of Kafr Jana village, north of Afrin, Syria. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - 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 center on Thursday following intense clashes, it said, adding that operations to secure the area were continuing.

Air raids on the Jinderes town center 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 organization 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 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 Islamic State. </s> Turkish troops have cleared “terrorists” from a strategic village in the Kurdish-held enclave in north-western Syria, Turkey’s prime minister has said.

Turkish troops have cleared “terrorists” from a strategic village in the Kurdish-held enclave in north-western Syria, Turkey’s prime minister has said.

Mr Yildirim said Turkish soldiers captured Rajo in Afrin district and pushed the “terrorists” back from the border with Turkey, tightening its grip on Kurdish militia in the sixth week of its offensive on the area.

Mr Yildirim told a rally the Kurdish Afrin district was surrounded by the military, special police and paramilitary forces, as well as allied Syrian opposition fighters. “We have cleared all areas near our borders of terror nests,” he said.

A fighter of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army secures Mersewa village in the greater Afrin district, Syria (Emrah Gurel/AP) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict, said fierce clashes were still ongoing in Rajo, in north-west Afrin. If confirmed, Rajo would be the largest centre in Afrin to be captured since the Turkish offensive began on January 20.

Turkish borders run along Afrin’s western and northern borders. A Syrian territory controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters lies to the east. Syrian government forces control territory in the south. Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters have been attacking Afrin from the north, west and east, and have formed a crescent around the district.

Turkey said it wants to oust the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, from Afrin, considering the group a terrorist organisation, an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders. Turkish soldiers hold a position on a hill in the greater Afrin district (Emrah Gurel/AP) Turkey said 41 of its soldiers have been killed since the operation began.

The US has no troops in Afrin, but said it fears the Turkish offensive could distract from the fight against IS in the east.

Complicating matters, fighters loyal to Syria’s government entered Afrin late last month to support the Syrian Kurdish militia, raising the spectre of a possible confrontation between Turkish and pro-government Syrian troops. The government continued its offensive against eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held region near the Syrian capital Damascus, despite a Russian-ordered five-hour humanitarian pause. A UN 30-day ceasefire has failed to take hold.

A Turkey-backed opposition fighter of the Free Syrian Army in the greater Afrin district (Emrah Gurel/AP) Syrian activists and rescuers said at least six civilians were killed in the ongoing bombing on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Syrian State TV said on Saturday that two children escaped from the region under gunfire from the rebels, who control eastern Ghouta.

Syrian government and Russian officials accuse the rebels of firing at a corridor set up for evacuation, preventing civilians from leaving. The corridor, manned by Russia military police and Syrian troops, has been set to open for five hours daily since Tuesday. An elderly Pakistani couple managed to leave after negotiations. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Syrian Civil Defence said six civilians were killed on Saturday in government bombings in eastern Ghouta. </s> According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, the Turkish army and an opposition group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), have taken control of the town of Rajo. The forces have also reportedly captured the villages of Ramadiye and Hamilek to the south-west of Afrin during the offensive.

The Turkish TV channel Haberturk reported earlier that the second stage of Ankara's Olive Branch military push was launched on Friday. The Turkish forces aim to clear the large settlements in the Afrin area from mostly-Kurdish forces they deem to be terrorists, according to the reports.

READ MORE: Pentagon Sees No Indication of Turkey's Plans to Expand Olive Branch to Manbij

The towns of Rajo and Jinders are considered to be of strategic importance for the success of the Turkish operation, as they are located on the major roads leading to Afrin. After gaining control of the city, the Turkish military and their allies are planning to encircle Afrin.

The offensive comes after the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2401 calling on all parties to the conflict to stop fighting and adhere to a long-term humanitarian pause across the country in order to ensure the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.

The Turkish armed forces have been carrying out their offensive in Afrin since January 20, 2018, in order to "clear" the area near the Syrian border of the Kurdish fighters they consider terrorists. Ankara considers the PYD, a Kurdish political party in northern Syria, and the related YPG militia, to be associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.

Damascus has strongly condemned the operation conducted by Turkey as an assault on the nation's sovereignty. Russia, in turn, has urged all parties to exercise restraint and called for respect for Syria's territorial integrity. </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes struck pro-Syrian government forces in the northwestern Afrin region of Syria on Saturday, killing at least 36 of them, as Turkey’s assault in the Kurdish region gathered pace, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The pro-Syrian government forces entered Afrin last week in support of the Kurdish YPG militia, the stated target of the operation launched by Turkey and allied Syrian rebel fighters in January.

The Observatory said the air strike, which hit a camp in Kafr Jina, marked the third time in 48 hours that Turkish warplanes had struck pro-government forces in Afrin.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a YPG-led militia alliance, said in a statement that Turkish air strikes had targeted positions held by the Syrian army’s“popular forces” from 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) until 10 a.m. (0800 GMT).

It did not say where or give a death toll.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his country’s forces had captured the town of Rajo from militants. The Observatory said the Turkish army was in control of about 70 percent of the town, about 25 km (16 miles) northwest of Afrin city.

The SDF statement said a group of Turkish forces and allied Syrian factions had infiltrated Rajo, where it said clashes were continuing between SDF forces and the attackers.

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey and is deemed a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Turkey. The YPG has been an important ally for the United States in the fight against Islamic State. </s> The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) liberated one more village from the PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) yesterday as part of Operation Olive Branch in Syria's northwestern Afrin region.

The village of Shaykh Muhammadli in the Rajo district in northwest of Afrin, has been cleared of YPG terrorists. Since Feb. 26, a crescent-shape corridor stretching along northwestern Idlib province and Aleppo province's Azaz district has cut the terrorists' connection from the Turkish border.

Since the launch of the operation on Jan. 20, the Turkish military and FSA hve liberated 116 locations, including one of Afrin's five towns, 88 villages, six smaller villages, 20 strategic mountains and hills and one YPG base.

A TSK statement yesterday also said that at least 2,222 terrorists have been killed in Operation Olive Branch.

Ankara launched the operation on Jan. 20 to secure Turkey's border with Syria by driving the YPG from Afrin. The operation aims to establish security and stability along the border and in the region as well as to protect Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

The operation in Afrin, which abuts Turkey's Hatay and Kilis provinces was widely expected in the wake of Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria from Aug. 24, 2016, to March 2017, which cleared Daesh terrorists from the border.

Afrin has been a major base for the YPG since July 2012, when the Bashar Assad regime in Syria left the region to the terrorist group without putting up a fight. </s> Turkish forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) opposition group have captured the city centre of Afrin in Syria, which was previously controlled by Kurdish fighters, Turkish military forces and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"The Turkish armed forces and Free Syrian Army have taken the control of Afrin's city centre," the Turkish military said in a tweet on Sunday, adding that experts were searching for landmines and other sorts of explosive traps in the area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also announced that Turkey-backed forces took complete control of the city centre at 8:30am local time (05:00 GMT).

The armed forces shared a video in a separate tweet allegedly showing the Turkish flag hoisted in the city centre of Afrin.

Other videos and photos shared by the Turkish-backed FSA fighters on social media showed them in residential streets, making victory signs and waving flags. Al Jazeera cannot independently confirm their authenticity.

Turkey - together with the FSA - in January launched a military operation into Afrin in the northwest of Syria to vanquish the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection (YPG) fighters near its border.

Turkey considers the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and its armed wing YPG to be "terrorist groups" with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK has waged a decades-long armed fight against the Turkish state that has killed tens of thousands of people.

The PYD/YPG has come to control large swaths of northern Syria, including Afrin, in the course of the Syrian war, particularly through fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in an US-backed umbrella organisation named Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The US support for SDF has infuriated Turkey and created the ongoing diplomatic crisis between the two NATO allies. </s> ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president said Sunday that allied Syrian forces have taken “total” control of the town centre of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia, which said the fighting was still underway.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish flag and the flag of the Syrian opposition fighters has been raised in the town, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People’s Defence Units, or YPG.

“Many of the terrorists had turned tail and run away already,” Erdogan said.

Turkey’s military tweeted that its forces are now conducting combing operations to search for land mines and explosives. The army tweeted a video showing a soldier holding a Turkish flag and a man waving the Syrian opposition flag on the balcony of the district parliament building with a tank stationed on the street.

A Kurdish official, Hadia Yousef, told The Associated Press the YPG fighters have not fled the town, but have evacuated the remaining civilians because of “massacres.” She said clashes in the town were still underway.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Turkey-backed forces have taken control of half the town, with intense fighting still underway.

Turkey views the Kurdish forces in the Afrin enclave along the border as terrorists because of their links to the Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

It launched an offensive against the town and surrounding areas on Jan. 20, slowly squeezing the militia and hundreds of thousands of civilians into the town centre.

The Observatory says nearly 200,000 people have fled the Afrin region in recent days amid heavy airstrikes, entering Syrian government-held territory nearby.

The YPG was a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group, and seized large areas across northern and eastern Syria with the help of coalition airstrikes.

But Erdogan has repeatedly said that NATO ally Turkey will not allow a “terror corridor” along its border. At least 46 Turkish soldiers have been killed since the offensive began.

The Kurdish militia and the Observatory said Turkish jets struck Afrin’s main hospital on Friday, killing over a dozen people. The Turkish military denied the allegations. </s> BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes attacked pro-Syrian government forces overnight, killing at least 17 people in a village in the north of the Afrin region in northwestern Syria, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

The dead included three members of the Syrian Kurdish YPG force, while the rest came from militias that support President Bashar al-Assad and entered Afrin last week to help repel a Turkish offensive, the Observatory said.

The Turkish military declined to comment on the Observatory report, but the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday that Turkish attack helicopters had killed nine YPG fighters in the west of Afrin.

Another Turkish news agency, Dogan, reported that Turkish and allied forces had started an operation on Friday morning to take control of the town of Rajo in Afrin.

Turkey and allied Syrian rebel groups began their operation against the YPG in Afrin in January, aiming to drive out the Kurdish militia, which Ankara sees as a terrorist group linked to an insurgency inside Turkey’s borders.

Despite making slow progress at first, the offensive has gained control over all Afrin’s border areas adjoining Turkey. Late on Thursday, the Turkish military said eight Turkish soldiers had been killed and 13 injured in clashes in Afrin.

Last month, after the YPG asked the Syrian government to send its army to repel the offensive, pro-Syrian government militias crossed into Afrin and deployed along the frontlines with Turkey.

However, the move did not deter the Turkish offensive and has not so far heralded any wider escalation involving the Syrian government and the forces that support it.
Turkish troops and the Free Syrian Army seize control of the strategic town of Rajo, Syria, from YPG forces.