Turkey has so far detained 573 people over social media posts and protests criticizing its military offensive in Syria, the government said on Monday. “Since the start of Operation Olive Branch, 449 people have been detained for spreading terrorist propaganda on social media and 124 people detained for taking part in protest action,” the Interior Ministry said. The operation has been widely supported by Turkey’s mainly pro-government media and by most political parties, with the exception of the pro-Kurdish opposition, according to Reuters. </s> ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has so far detained 573 people for social media posts and protests criticizing its military offensive in Syria, the government said on Monday.

Turkish military armoured vehicles arrive at a border village near the town of Hassa in Hatay province, Turkey, January 21, 2018. Baris Kadirhan/Depo Photos via REUTERS

The crackdown, which has extended to the national medical association, has deepened concerns about free speech under President Tayyip Erdogan, who has criticized opponents of the military intervention as “traitors”.

Turkey last month launched an air and ground offensive, dubbed Operation Olive Branch, against the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria’s northwestern Afrin region. Authorities have repeatedly warned they would prosecute those opposing, criticizing or misrepresenting the incursion.

“Since the start of Operation Olive Branch, 449 people have been detained for spreading terrorist propaganda on social media and 124 people detained for taking part in protest action,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The operation has been widely supported by Turkey’s mainly pro-government media and by most political parties, with the exception of the pro-Kurdish opposition.

Last week, a prosecutor ordered the detention of 11 senior members of the Turkish Medical Association, including its chairman, after the organization criticized the incursion, saying: “No to war, peace immediately”.

Erdogan criticized the body as traitors. All of the doctors have since been released on probation, the association said on Twitter. Detention orders have been issued for another 13 people for supporting the medics.

“There are laws that prohibit the glorification of terrorism, support for terrorism through propaganda and media. The prosecutors are implementing the laws,” Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, told reporters in Istanbul at the weekend.

Ankara considers the U.S.-backed YPG, which controls Afrin, to be a terrorist group and an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has fought an insurgency in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast since 1984.

Turkey is in the midst of a widening crackdown that began after a failed coup attempt in July 2016. Some 50,000 people have been jailed and 150,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Critics, including rights groups and some Western allies, say Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to muzzle dissent. The latest arrests have also drawn criticism from the European Union.

Turkey says its measures are necessary due to the gravity of the security threats it faces. </s> ANKARA : Turkish authorities are investigating some 10,000 people on suspicion of using social media to support terrorism, the interior ministry said on Saturday, part of a wide crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and some Western allies.

Turkey, which faces security threats from Kurdish and leftist militants and Islamic State, has sacked or suspended more than 100,000 people following an attempted military coup in July. It says the measures are necessary to root out supporters of the putsch and other terrorists.

Rights groups and some European countries have said President Tayyip Erdogan is using the current state of emergency to quash dissent. Since the coup, more than 150 media outlets have been shut down and 140 journalists arrested.

The interior ministry said on Saturday the fight against terrorism was being carried out "with determination" in social media.

In the last six months, authorities have detained 3,710 people for questioning, the ministry said. Of those, 1,656 have been formally arrested and 84 are still being questioned.

The remaining 1,970 have been released, although 1,203 of those are still being monitored, it said.

Access to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook is commonly blocked, particularly after bombings or other deadly attacks, internet monitoring groups have said. Turkey denies that it blocks the internet, and has previously blamed outages on spikes in usage after major events.

Technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda. </s> HASSA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):

Media reports say police in Turkey have broken up demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Kurds in Turkey not to take to the streets to protest Turkey's military operation against a Kurdish-run enclave in Syria.

The Dogan news agency said police detained 12 demonstrators in Istanbul who were protesting the offensive. It said police used tear gas to disperse a separate protest in the capital Ankara. It did not provide further details on the Ankara protests.

Erdogan earlier warned that those who heed calls by Kurdish politicians to protest would "pay a high price."

Syria's President Bashar Assad says Turkey's "brutal aggression" against a Syrian Kurdish enclave is part and parcel of Ankara's support of "terrorists."

Assad's comments came during his meeting Sunday with the visiting head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi. Assad said Turkey has always supported "terrorists" in Syria and its attack on Afrin can't be separated from this policy.

Syria had warned it would shoot down any Turkish fighter jets that Afrin, calling it an "aggressive act." Turkey started bombing Afrin Saturday. There was no response from the Syrian government.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized France over its decision to call for a U.N. security council meeting over the situation in Syria, following Turkey's offensive into a Syrian Kurdish-run enclave.

Cavusoglu told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday that Turkey expected France to stand by an ally country and not with a "terror organization."

Cavusoglu said if France does "not act like ally... then it would be treated as a country that sides with terrorists." Turkey considers Syrian Kurdish militia group that controls the enclave of Afrin to be terrorists because of their affiliation with Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey.

The minister's comments were televised live on Turkish television.

Earlier, France in a statement urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria."

An official says a second border town has come under rocket attack from across the Syrian border. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were wounded.

Huseyin Sanverdi, the mayor for the town of Reyhanli, told NTV television that three rockets hit his town some 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) from the Syrian Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin where Turkey's military is conducting an offensive.

Anadolu Agency said the attack caused extensive destruction in the town, damaging buildings and cars.

Earlier, the rockets fired from Syria targeted the border town of Kilis, but there were no casualties. Turkish artillery units retaliated to the attack.

Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that the country's Foreign Ministry has condemned the Turkish assault on the Syrian city of Afrin and expressed its concerns over this operation.

The Sunday report by IRNA quotes the ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying Iran is concerned about ongoing developments in the city of Afrin and following them closely.

Ghasemi called on Turkey to end this offensive operation immediately. "The continuing crisis in Afarin may boost terrorist groups again in the northern parts of Syria."

Ghasemi the international community, especially Syria's neighboring countries, to continue their efforts to reach a peaceful and political settlement.

Turkey's state-run news agency, Anadolu, said Turkey's chief of staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, discussed the operation with his Iranian counterpart in a telephone conversation on Sunday.

Egypt has condemned Turkey's military offensive in a Syrian Turkish enclave, describing it as a breach of Syria's sovereignty.

In a Sunday statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry warned that the ongoing operation by Turkish troops and Syrian opposition in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin threatens political negotiations. The Turkish operation is aimed at driving a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the region.

The ministry described the assault as "a new violation of Syria's sovereignty."

Egypt has maintained security coordination with Syria during the latter's civil war. Egypt is also at odds with Turkey accusing it of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed in Egypt, to which deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi belongs.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Kurds in Turkey not to take to the streets and protest the Turkish military's operations against a Kurdish-run enclave in Syria.

Erdogan said Sunday those who heed calls by a Kurdish party for protests will "pay a high price."

He said: "This is a national struggle. We will crush anyone who opposes our national struggle."

Erdogan was addressing a congress of the women's branch of his ruling party in the northwestern city of Bursa, a day after Turkey launched an air and ground offensive in the northwestern Syrian enclave of Afrin to clear it of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Erdogan said Afrin was a predominantly Arab area and that Turkey was determined to return it to its rightful owners.

The Turkish leader also wowed to defeat the Syrian Kurdish group, warning them not to rely on weapons supplied by the United States.

The French foreign ministry said France is calling for a U.N. security council emergency meeting over the deteriorating situation in Syria.

France's call comes Sunday after Turkish troops and Syrian opposition forces attacked a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria in their bid to drive a U.S.-allied Kurdish militia from the area.

The ministry said in a written statement that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, by phone Sunday.

France urged Turkish authorities "to act with restraint in a context where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in several regions of Syria," the statement said.

France also condemned the "indiscriminate bombings" targeting inhabited areas and medical centers led by the Syrian regime in the northwestern province of Idlib in recent weeks.

Syria's military says its capture of a key air base in the country's northwest is an "achievement" that secures roads between the northern provinces.

Army spokesman Gen. Ali Mayhoub said in a televised statement on Sunday that the capture of the Abu Zuhour air base in Idlib province was "a blow" to the insurgents who had controlled the base since 2015. Mayhoub called it the second largest military base in northern Syria and said it was being cleared of booby traps and land mines. He said its capture secures the roads between the Hama, Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian government forces and allied militias were also working to secure the air base. Mayhoub said the government offensive has also captured 300 villages in rural Idlib, Hama and Aleppo.

The offensive on Idlib — the largest rebel stronghold remaining in Syria — started last month and has displaced more than 212,000 civilians.

It's a separate offensive from the Turkish-led military operation in a Kurdish-run enclave in neighboring Aleppo province.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes Turkey will conclude its operation in a Syrian Kurdish enclave in a short period of time.

Addressing crowds in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa on Sunday, Erdogan said Turkey was determined to clear the enclave of Afrin of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey considers to be terrorists, saying: "there is no stepping back."

"We are not alone... Allah is with us," Erdogan said: "Got willing, this operation will come to an end in a short time."

Meanwhile, Turkey's state-run news agency said Turkish prosecutors had launched investigations into several social media users suspected of engaging in Kurdish rebel "propaganda" through postings criticizing the Turkish operation in Afrin.

A Kurdish militia and a Syrian war monitoring group have denied reports that Turkish troops have entered a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Kurdish militia and Turkish forces have clashed on the northern and western edges of Afrin, but that Turkish troops have failed to advance.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is dominated by the Kurdish militia, said attempts to infiltrate Afrin have been repelled since Saturday. He said Turkish aircraft have continued to strike Afrin.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Bali said the SDF, which is the main U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, has reinforced YPG ranks in order to defend Afrin.

Syrian opposition fighters are battling alongside the Turkish troops in the latest front to open in the war in Syria.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish ground troops have entered a Kurdish-held enclave in northern Syria and are advancing with Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces.

Anadolu Agency said the troops pushed into Afrin on Sunday, a day after Turkish jets pounded Syrian Kurdish targets in the region.

The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Turkey considers the YPG a terror organization because of its affiliation to Kurdish rebels fighting in southeastern Turkey, and had been threatening to attack Afrin for weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to expand the operation to other Kurdish regions.

The YPG is a key U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group.

A Turkish official says suspected Syrian Kurdish fighters have fired rockets from across the border, slightly wounding one person.

Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan says four rockets struck the town of Kilis early Sunday, hitting two houses and an office. He says Turkish artillery returned fire. The attack came as dozens of Turkish jets pounded the Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey views as part of the Kurdish insurgency in its southeast. The militia forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main U.S. ally against the Islamic State group in Syria.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says Turkey-backed Syrian forces have penetrated the enclave and are advancing.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Authorities in Turkey have arrested 1,656 people in the past six months for allegedly supporting terrorist organisations or insulting officials on social media - and are investigating at least 10,000 others.

The interior ministry said legal action had been taken against 3,710 people identified by police.

Besides those arrested, 1,203 people were released on probation, 767 were released and 84 others are still in detention.

Additionally, investigations and legal procedures are under way against an additional 10,000 people reported to public prosecutors.

Turkey has cracked down on dissent following a failed coup in July, with thousands detained over alleged ties to outlawed groups.

Authorities also frequently restrict access to social media platforms to prevent the spread of material authorities say would harm public security. </s> BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local):

Rebels under siege on the outskirts of Damascus are pounding the Syrian capital with rockets and mortar shells, a barrage that state media says has killed one person and wounded 13.

The SANA news agency said Monday that "armed groups" were firing into Damascus from the eastern Ghouta suburbs, one of the last remaining opposition-held pockets in the capital region.

Government forces pounded the suburbs with airstrikes on Monday. Syrian activists say at least 28 people have been killed.

The U.N. estimates 400,000 people are trapped under a government siege in eastern Ghouta. A top humanitarian official called the region the "epicenter of suffering" in Syria.

Turkey says it has detained 573 people for criticizing its offensive in northern Syria since the operation began earlier this month.

An Interior Ministry statement said Monday that 449 people have been detained so far for allegedly engaging in "terror propaganda" on social media, while a further 124 were detained for participating in protests against the military operation into the Syrian Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin.

Turkey launched its offensive on Jan. 20 to clear Afrin of Syrian Kurdish forces, whom Ankara views as terrorists because of their links to Kurdish insurgents in Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused opponents of the offensive of supporting terrorism, while authorities warned they would be prosecuted.

Those detained include several members of the Turkish Medical Association who warned against the operation's human costs. Erdogan accused the group of being "terrorist lovers."

A Russian news agency says two people have been killed and three wounded in shelling near two Russian aid distribution points in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

RIA Novosti said mortar shells landed near the offices of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch on Monday, killing two people inside and wounding three.

Russian volunteers were distributing aid collected by Russia's Muslim and Christian communities outside the building and at another location.

The Russian Orthodox Church said none of its staff were hurt.

Turkey's state-run news agency says a Turkish military convoy has been dispatched to establish an observation post in northwest Syria.

The Anadolu Agency says the convoy reached a rural area in the western countryside of the province of Aleppo to establish Turkey's fourth post in Syria's largest rebel stronghold.

Turkey began deploying forces in an observer role to northwestern Syria in October, as part of a "de-escalation" agreement with Iran and Russia to stabilize the lines of conflict in war-torn Syria.

The deployment comes amid heightened tensions between rebels and pro-government forces at their shared frontier, after the government retook a contested air base in January.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a convoy of dozens of armed vehicles crossed into rebel-held territory from Turkey early Monday.

A similar convoy was struck by a car bomb while transiting through rebel territory last Tuesday. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which killed a civilian who was part of the convoy.

Syrian activists say at least 23 civilians have been killed in intense government airstrikes on a rebel-held suburb near Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says waves of airstrikes hit at least five neighborhoods in the Eastern Ghouta suburb, the only remaining rebel stronghold near the capital, Damascus.

The activist-run Ghouta Media Center also reported that 23 were killed. The Observatory says at least 70 have been wounded and that the number of casualties is likely to climb as rescuers operations are underway.

Among those killed was a rescue worker from the first-responders team known as White Helmets. The two groups say he died on duty in Arbeen, one of the neighborhoods hit by the airstrikes.

An estimated 400,000 residents live in Eastern Ghouta, besieged by Syrian government forces. ___

Syrian activists say two hospitals have been hit amid a wave of airstrikes on opposition-held areas in the northwest province of Idlib, the largest remaining rebel stronghold in Syria.

The bombardment comes after rebels shot down a Russian fighter jet on Saturday.

The activist-run Edlib Media Center and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say one of the bombed hospitals was in the town of Kafranbel. They say it was hit on Monday morning.

Also, a spokesman for the Syrian American Medical Society says a hospitals it operates was struck three times on Sunday night.

The spokesman, Mohamad Katoub, says the hospital is in the town of Maaret al-Numan and is no longer operational.

A hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders was damaged in an airstrike last Tuesday.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the Syrian conflict (all times local):

A Turkish official says two rockets fired from Syria hit a mosque and a home in a Turkish border town. At least 13 people were hurt.

Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan says the rockets struck the border town of Kilis on Wednesday during evening prayers. Media reports said they were fired from the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin.

Tekinarslan says eight were wounded inside the mosque, two of them seriously. The second rocket hit a nearby home, where five were hurt.

Turkish TV images showed the rocket that struck the mosque had pierced through its dome. The private NTV station showed people inside the mosque frantically trying to clear the rubble.

It was the latest in a series of rocket attacks against the Turkish border since Ankara launched a military offensive into Afrin to clear it of Syrian Kurdish militiamen whom it considers to be linked with Turkey's own Kurdish insurgents.

Turkey's state-run agency says 11 people have been arrested over allegedly engaging in "terror propaganda" through social media postings about Turkey's military offensive into a Syrian Kurdish enclave.

Anadolu Agency says the group is among some 150 people detained in police operations across Turkey and accused of supporting a U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey considers to be a terrorist group.

The report says other detainees, suspected of social media posts allegedly supporting the Syrian Kurdish fighters, were still being questioned. The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders criticized the detentions as a "witch hunt against critics."

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its own borders. Ankara last week launched a military operation codenamed Olive Branch to clear YPG fighters from the enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

A senior U.S. official says Washington is concerned that Turkey's military offensive in the Syrian-Kurdish enclave could distract from the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and could be exploited by extremists to re-supply or create safe havens.

The official told a group of reporters on Wednesday that Syrian Kurdish fighters in the enclave of Afrin are not part of the U.S.-supported or trained Syrian Kurdish force that is allied with the United States in the fight against IS.

Commenting on Turkish threats to expand the offensive into the Syrian Kurdish town of Manbij, the official says Washington's "number one concern is the safety and security troops in the vicinity."

Addressing Turkish complaints that the United States has not kept to its promises to take back weapons supplied to the Syrian Kurdish fighters, the official said Washington intended to "fulfil the commitment" but would not provide a time frame.

The official says the U.S. continues to be supportive of Turkey's "legitimate security concerns" and recognize their concern for security along its border.

A second U.S. official denied Turkish government claims the U.S. had delivered thousands of trucks of weapons to the Syrian Kurdish forces, saying the bulk of the supplies went to U.S. forces and also included ammunition, food and humanitarian supplies.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Some 350 Kurds burned images of the presidents of Turkey and Russia as they marched on the U.S. and Russian embassies in the Cypriot capital Nicosia to protest Turkey's "invasion" of a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria.

Waving Kurdish flags and those of the Syrian Kurdish militant group YPG, protesters chanted slogans calling Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "fascist" and "terrorist," and called on Turkey to "get out of Kurdistan."

They also denouncing what they said was Russia's "betrayal" for allowing the military offensive to happen.

Protester Azad Baker told The Associated Press that Wednesday's march was aimed at urging European nations to use their influence in order to stop the killing of civilians in the Kurdish enclave.

He said Kurds are fighting alone without U.S. help.

Turkey's president says its incursion into a Kurdish-held enclave in Syria is progressing "successfully" and will continue until the last "terrorist" is eliminated.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday renewed a threat to extend the offensive east to the city of Manbij, which is under the control of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters. He said he plans to "foil games along our borders starting from Manbij," adding that "we will clean our region from this trouble completely."

Erdogan said that Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters have killed at least 268 Syrian Kurdish fighters since the operation against the Afrin enclave was launched on Jan. 20. He said Turkish troops have suffered seven or eight losses.

Ankara views the main Syrian Kurdish militia in northern Syria as a threat because of its links to Kurdish insurgents fighting in southeastern Turkey. The Syrian Kurds are the main U.S. ally against the Islamic State group in Syria, and played a key role in driving the extremists from much of the country's northeast. The U.S. has urged Turkey, a NATO ally, to exercise restraint.

Syria has dismissed recent reports of chemical attacks in the war-torn country as "lies."

The United States and 28 other countries are launching a new initiative to better identify and punish anyone who uses chemical weapons, amid new reports of a suspected chemical attack on the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus.

The U.S. says Russia, a key ally of the government, shares blame for the use of chemical weapons in Syria because it vetoed the renewal of an expert body that determined responsibility for such attacks.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that French and U.S. allegations of new chemical attacks were part of the "systematic targeting of Syria." It blamed Western countries for blocking probes and pressuring investigators after previous chemical attacks.

In 2013, the U.S. and Russia reached an agreement to remove all chemical weapons from Syria. There have been several reported chemical attacks since then.

A top Russian diplomat has accused the United States of promoting unverified reports about chemical weapons attacks in Syria in order to cloud Russia's peace initiatives.

Russia is hosting Syria peace talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi next week that some Syrian opposition figures said will run counter to U.N. peace initiatives.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency on Wednesday that the U.S. is promoting "rigged, unverified reports" of the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria to hamper Russia's peace efforts.

Ryabkov's remarks came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Moscow "ultimately bears responsibility for the victims" of a new suspected chemical attack outside the Syrian capital Damascus.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </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> KOCABEYLI, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's state media: Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters have started entering Kurdish enclave of Afrin in Syria.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Turkey detains nearly 600 people for social media posts and protests opposing the Afrin offensive in Syria.