Afrin, Syria

Turkey on Monday insisted pro-Ankara forces did not plan to remain in Afrin as occupiers after they ousted Kurdish militia from the northern Syrian city, AFP reports.

Syrian rebels backed by the Turkish army on Sunday drove the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) out of their former stronghold of Afrin near the Turkish frontier.

Turkey’s EU Minister Ömer Çelik has slammed top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini’s voicing of concerns about the Turkish army’s ongoing operation into Syria’s Afrin district against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), saying Turkey’s “sole objective is to fight against terrorism and to protect its borders.”

The European Union's top diplomat criticized Turkey on Monday over its military offensive in a northern Syrian town, calling on Ankara to ensure that fighting eases in the conflict-torn country.

Turkish forces will not remain in Syria's Afrin and will leave the region to its "real owners", Ankara's main spokesman said on March 19, after Turkey's military and Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured the town on March 18.

A British woman who sided with the Syrian Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), the all-female armed unit of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), has been killed in Syria’s Afrin during “Operation Olive Branch,” the Turkish military’s ongoing operation to remove YPG militants from the northwestern Syrian town.

The Turkish military has shared its first video of Syria’s Afrin after taking complete control of the town center.

A Turkish soldier succumbed to his wounds on March 17 during the Turkish military’s ongoing “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria’s northwestern Afrin district.

Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army (FSA) have entered Syria’s Afrin and taken control of several districts, Doğan News Agency Reported on March 18

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on March 17 described a European Parliament motion against Turkey’s ongoing operation in Syria’s Afrin as an “eclipse of reason”. 

Turkish army chief hopes the Turkish military, which uses the most modern weapons in its ongoing military operation in Syria’s Afrin while taking care civilians do not get hurt, will achieve its objectives soon.