ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The United Nations labeled Afrin as "occupied," explaining that it is unable to deliver humanitarian aid following Turkey's three-month operation.
"We cannot access Afrin as it's an occupied region,” Ali Al-Zatari, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria told AFP, adding that daily attempts to reach the region are underway.
The UN estimated at the start of the operation there were around 323,000 people (including IDPs) in Afrin. OCHA reported as Turkish troops took control of Afrin city on Sunday, around 100,000 people need basic humanitarian aid.
The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect said the people of Afrin are facing "war crimes and mass displacement," in statement on Tuesday.
"There are grave concerns for the fate of ethnic Kurdish civilians at the hands of the Turkish-backed forces now occupying Afrin," added the Australian based research centre.
Earlier this month, Turkey cut water and electricity after controlling Maydanki or 17 Nisan Dam.
Turkish troops provided food, medication, and free health checkups, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.
Turkish soldiers diffused an improvised explosive device (IED) in a Quran on Thursday, Anadolu added.
However, three Turkish soldiers died from a different improvised explosive device.
"We have three martyrs today. They were martyred while clearing IEDs," Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim said in a televised speech from Ankara.
YPG and YPJ fighters claim they killed Turkish forces who were looting in Afrin's city center near Jandaris road, media close to the YPG (ANF) reported on Thursday.
YPG media reported its fighters had destroyed a Turkish army vehicle in the Bulbul sub-district of Afrin on Tuesday.
The Kurdish fighters also killed foreign forces in between Shemale and Meydanke villages in Shera on Wednesday, ANF added, reporting continued looting.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said looters will be punished.
Fighting on the northwestern fronts in Afrin broke out on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch also warned Turkey is sending asylum seekers fleeing into Turkey to Idlib, Syria.
"Turkish security forces have routinely intercepted hundreds, and at times thousands, of asylum seekers at the Turkey-Syria border since at least December 2017 and summarily deported them to the war-ravaged Idlib governorate in Syria," Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
Idlib borders Aleppo province from the south.
HRW also noted people in Idlib "have been caught in the crossfire between Kurdish and Turkish forces."
Turkey began its assault on Afrin, Syria, with the help of proxy fighters on January 20.
European Union speaks out on Afrin from Brussels
Emmanuel Macron, French President: "I believe we must take the security of Turkey into consideration, this is evident, but we will never support an intrusion into a sovereign country, Syria, even if this country is at war and we can not question what is an infraction of a resolution of the United Nations that we contributed to and that the Russians accepted, so it is important in the context of dialogue to build, with Turkey, a return to normality and France will contribute with all it has toward this goal."
French President Emmanuel Macron responding to Rudaw's Alla Shally about Afrin and Turkey's military operation in northern Syria or Rojava. Photo: Rudaw TV
German and Dutch foreign ministers also commented on Afrin during a press conference in Berlin.
Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister: "We will now observe this very closely and draw our conclusions depending on how things develop. But it is clear that [Germany] ... has made it very clear that we do not agree with the Turkish side's action on the Afrin issue."
Stef Blok, Dutch Foreign Minister: "[W]e both are of the opinion that Turkey should oblige with international obligation. And there is a Security Council Resolution that there should be actually a standstill. But Syria and Turkey is not abiding the Security Council Resolution."
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