Two civilians killed, four injured in Turkish shelling on Syria's Afrin
At least two civilians have been killed and four others injured in Turkish shelling on Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin, where Ankara is leading an operation against US-backed Kurdish militants.
On Saturday, one child was killed and four civilians were injured due to the continued shelling by the Turkish forces on Qntara village in Afrin, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.
Turkish forces fired a barrage of artillery rounds and rockets at the villages in the areas of Shiran, Jindares and M’abatli in Afrin, leaving a civilian dead and causing material damage to people’s property, according to SANA.
Turkish forces have been heavily bombing Afrin since early Saturday, killing a number of pro-government forces and destroying a drinking water tank in Jandaris in southwestern Afrin, the Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported.
Syrians protest Turkey’s offensive
Separately on Saturday, Syrians in Afrin staged a demonstration to protest against Turkey’s military operation in the northern border region.
The protesters chanted slogans against Ankara and held placards bearing the images of those killed in Turkish attacks.
In a statement released on Friday, Human Rights Watch criticized the Ankara government’s ongoing cross-border offensive in Afrin, saying that the Turkish military had failed to adopt necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties.
The New York-based rights organization said that some 26 civilians, including 17 children, lost their lives during Turkey’s three attacks against Afrin in late January.
Turkey launched the so-called Operation Olive Branch in Afrin on January 20 in a bid to eliminate the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said that Afrin should be cleared of “terrorists.” He demanded the deployment of Turkish troops there during a speech back in November 2016.
US officials regard the YPG as the most effective fighting force against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in northern Syria, and have substantially increased their weaponry and technological support to the terrorist group.
The Syrian government has already condemned the “brutal Turkish aggression” against Afrin, rejecting Ankara’s claim about having informed Damascus of the operation.
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