Kurdistan 24 frontline coverage in Afrin: Turkish military resumes shelling on city and countryside

AFRIN, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish military on Thursday resumed air strikes and artillery shelling on Syria’s predominantly Kurdish northwest region of Afrin, Kurdish authorities there said.

The Syrian Kurdish-led forces of People’s Protection Units (YPG) in an online statement affirmed the Turkish military launched widespread attacks on several parts of Afrin region, including the city center.

Kurdistan 24 Correspondent Akran Salih, who covers developments on the ground, said an air raid targeted the Ashrafiya neighborhood in Afrin and other two raids struck the Tranda neighborhood on Thursday night.

Several civilians were wounded, and some lost their lives, he said.

In Shera district, south of Afrin, the YPG statement said the Turkish army targeted Yezidi (Ezidi) villages.

In Bulbula district, the Turkish warplanes targeted Kavire hill at about midnight and resumed their attack till Friday early morning.

In Jandaris district, the YPG said a woman called Ameena Dormosh, 35, and two children Mahmoud and Mustafa, about ten years old, were wounded in a raid by Turkish warplanes.

The districts of Shia, Sherawa, and Rajo were also targeted by the Turkish airstrikes.

So far, there is no accurate account of the casualties.

Kurdistan 24 headed to the Sherawa front line in Jandaris district, south of Afrin, and the Rajo frontline, west of Afrin, and interviewed YPG fighters.

The YPG fighters asserted the Turkish military had not achieved any advancement yet.

“We exchanged fire with the militants on this line, and over there is Sheikh Barakat mountain, from which Turkey bombard us with heavy weapons,” said a YPG fighter.

Turkish positions near Samaan castle in the Sheikh Barakat mountains of the fertile, olive-growing province, put them just a few kilometers from Kurdish forces based in Jendaris.

“At the Rajo front line, our fighters seized much of their weaponry, such as tanks, and many other armored vehicles,” Egid Slopi, a YPG commander said.

“Despite ongoing clashes over there, the Turkish army and their allies are being defeated, and they haven't made any progress in our areas yet,” he said.

“Let the world know that we are defending ourselves,” he further pointed out.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched an air and ground offensive in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), targeting the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and their all-female brigade, the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), in the Afrin region.

With the ongoing operation, the Turkish military is attempting to control the mountains around Afrin with the aim to enter the city.

Despite heavy bombardment on the region, the Turkish army and their allied Syrian rebel forces have not achieved any major advancement.

Editing by Nadia Riva