🗞 War in Syria: Turkish army occupies Syrian city Afrin
The Turkish military has taken the center of Afrin. The military offensive is directed against the Kurdish militia YPG, who previously controlled the city in northern Syria. More than 150,000 civilians are fleeing.
The Turkish army and its allies conquered the northern Syrian city of Afrin on Sunday, according to activists. The units have "gained control of the city," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish flags were hoisted in the city.
The Turkish army also claimed that the center of the city is under control. Now the area will be cleared of mines and explosives. There was no confirmation from the Kurdish side so far.
The Turkish military invaded the province of Afrin in northwestern Syria on January 20 to fight the Kurdish militia YPG. The units moved from the border to the center of the province step by step. Afrin has been besieged since the beginning of this week. An estimate of 300,000 to 500,000 people are believed to be in the area, including many refugees from nearby villages and communities.
Rebels allied with Turkey proclaimed that they have penetrated "from the east and the west" into the city. Local residents told the AFP news agency that civilians were still hiding in basements. There is no water and electricity in the village for a week and a half. About 150,000 people have left Afrin probably.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Sunday that more than 1,500 Kurdish fighters have been killed since January 20. Most of them in air raids and artillery fire. On top of it more than 400 pro turk rebels have been killed.
For the government in Ankara the YPG is as a terrorist organization because of its connections to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkish President Erdogan has threatened to attack Afrin as well as Manbij and other cities in the region. The PKK is on the terror list in Turkey, Europe and the USA. The YPG, on the other hand, is an important US partner in the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
Source: dpa, Reuters
Powered by Insteem, the News on Steem
Thanks for alerting people to Turkey's war crimes against the Kurdish people.
Turkey's conquest of the Afrin region of Syria has barely got a mention in the mainstream media obsessed as it is with demonzing Russia. Turkey has committed numerous war crimes against the civilians of the Afrin region.
It remains to seen if Turkey's wannabe dictator Recip Erdogan (oops I meant president) will now be emboldened to cross the Euphrates river and attack the other Kurdish cantons in eastern Syria. It will be interesting to see if America keeps it troops in Kurdish towns like Manbij to deter the Turks or if it withdraws them. If it withdraws it troops the Turks will press on with their illegal activities in Northern Syria.
The whole situation is fraught with dangers that Turkey and Syria could come to blows.
Unfortunately, it now appears that ErDOGan will also invade norther Iraq.
Her Biji Kurdistan!
Her Biji Kurdistan!
Thank you for posting about Turkey's oppression of the Kurdish people in Syria (Rojava). The world has been silent about this new-found genocide for too long.
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvote this reply.
Your post is very for me, I ask permission resteem Thank you, best wishes always
nice your writing.
upvote resteem done
The Turks need to be bombed into oblivion.