Turkish planes carried out several airstrikes in the town in southwestern Afrin “which resulted in the death of 13 civilians at least, including 2 children and 3 women,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated, describing it as a “massacre.”
The Observatory noted that many more were injured, some severely, and some have been reported missing.
Another three civilians were killed and 18 wounded in Turkish bombardment of a village in the Rajo region of northwestern Afrin, according to the PYD, the ruling political party in Rojava.
Afrin Hospital received 22 injured civilians on Monday from across Afrin, Syria’s state-run SANA news reported.
The strikes were part of intensive bombardment of the area since dawn as Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies try to take control of the town.
Monday’s deaths raise the number of civilian casualties to 165, according to the Observatory. They have been killed in airstrikes, rocket and artillery shelling, and executions, the monitor detailed.
Local health authorities have reported 212 civilian deaths, Angela Rasho, co-chair of Afrin's Health Council, said in a press conference on Sunday. Since the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a ceasefire on February 24, 33 civilians have been killed and 36 wounded, she added. These numbers do not include those killed on Monday.
Turkey has repeatedly denied killing civilians and claims that its efforts to avoid civilian casualties have slowed down the military operation.
The military said it is proceeding with “utmost care” to protect civilians and that its operation will restore security to the borders and “protect Syrians from terrorist cruelty and oppression.”
As of Monday, Turkey is control of some 28 percent of the Kurdish enclave, including the towns of Bulbul and Rajo, according to the Observatory.
Turkey’s deputy prime minister and government spokesperson claimed on Monday that the military was in control of roughly a third of the canton. Bekir Bozdag said Turkey has taken 702 of Afrin’s 1,920 square kilometres, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkey has taken the position that its operation in Afrin is not subject to the 30-day UN humanitarian ceasefire. Kurdish forces have vowed to abide by the truce, but maintain the right to self-defence.
Afrin prepares for International Women’s Day
A convoy of buses bringing women from across Rojava and other parts of greater Kurdistan arrived in Afrin to show solidarity with women in the besieged canton, according to local news agency.
"We are very happy. As a Yezidi woman I am heading to Afrin and we support Afrin," an elderly woman told YPG-linked ANHA news, explaining that for her there is no difference between her hometown of Shingal and Afrin.
The all-female Kurdish armed force YPJ, which is fighting on the frontlines in Afrin, declared they will “continue to struggle until the last drop of our blood.”
In a published statement on Monday, the force said the attacks on Afrin reveal the inequality in the world, saying that if justice were true, “the slaughter of women, children and the elderly would not be ignored.”
