Turkey and its Syrian proxy militias took control of large parts of Shera in northeastern Afrin on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. They are already in control of Bulbul in the north and Rajo in the northwest and most of Sheikh Hadid in the east.
The Turkish military was in the centre of Shera (also known as Sharan), state-run Anadolu Agency confirmed.
The Kurdish-led SDF reported ongoing clashes in the Shera district “accompanied by indiscriminate artillery shelling and airstrikes.”
Afrin city and the towns of Jandaris and Mabeta are the three remaining urban centres still under Kurdish control, the Observatory stated, noting that Turkish forces are within 10 kilometres of Afrin city and are on the outskirts of Jandaris.
The SDF reported artillery shelling and airstrikes throughout all Afrin’s districts.
The armed Kurdish force, YPG, has stated they will abide by the UN Security Council ceasefire but reserve the right to self-defence. Turkey has maintained that the truce does not apply to its Afrin operation, which Ankara has framed as counter-terrorism.
The Observatory has documented the deaths of 327 from the ranks of the Kurdish YPG and the self-defence forces, and at least 366 from the Operation Olive Branch forces, including 68 Turkish soldiers.
Turkey launched its Operation Olive Branch on January 20, with its armed forces backing Free Syrian Army elements.
Afrin is home to some 323,000 people, including 125,000 Syrians displaced from other areas of the country.
On Tuesday, Arab militias within the SDF fighting ISIS alongside the US-led coalition in eastern Syria, announced the redeployment of 1,700 of their fighters to Afrin. They have families who are sheltering in the Kurdish enclave and feel that their responsibility is to protect the people of Afrin.
.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
