28 February 2018 - 21:56

Turkey claims cutting off Kurds from border with Syria

<p style="text-align:left">Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has claimed that Ankara's military has cut off the northern Syrian district of Afrin from Syrian- Turkish border and has resulted in the partial surrounding of the city controlled by the Kurds and Kurdish militias of the Peoples&rsquo; Protection Units (YPG).

"We leave behind the 39th day in our ‘Operation Olive Branch.’ Our soldiers continue to carry out the operation from land and air with utmost determination. Afrin has been surrounded by a crescent-like shape," Yildirim said Tuesday, as quoted by Hurriyet Daily News.

He added that within the course of the operation, Turkish troops backed by militias loyal to Ankara had been advancing in the region, while Turkish police units and forest guards had been ensuring order in the areas under the Turkish forces' control.

Ankara has been carrying out the operation dubbed Olive Branch since January 20, in the wake of the US announcement that a new border force largely dominated by the YPG.

The Syrian government has strongly condemned the operation conducted by Turkey as an assault on the nation's sovereignty.

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