Turkish military enters Syrian territory for ground operation

TEHRAN (defapress) – Turkish tanks and military personnel have entered Syrian territory amid preparations for the ground operation in Syrian northern district of Afrin.

News ID: 68191

Date: 21 January 2018 - 11:17

According to the newspaper, the Turkish tanks and troops started to enter Syrian territory from the Oncupinar border gate at 19:00 GMT and the passage continued until the early hours of Sunday morning, the Yeni Safak newspaper reported on Sunday.

The day before, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that the ground operation in Syria's Afrin may start on Sunday.

The Turkish General Staff declared the launch of the operation dubbed Olive Branch against the Kurdish forces in Afrin on Saturday. The operation started at 14:00 GMT and over 70 Turkish warplanes conducted airstrikes in seven districts of Afrin, where 108 targets were hit. The military operation has already been condemned by Damascus with the Syrian Foreign Ministry calling the act a violation of Syrian sovereignty.

Following the airstrike, the authorities of the Afrin canton told Sputnik that at least 10 Afrin residents had been injured in the attack.

According to media reports, during the airstrikes, the Rubar refugee camp for internally displaced persons from the province of Aleppo was damaged. Turkish warplanes also targeted a local airfield, which was used by the US forces for arms deliveries to Kurdish militia.