Monitoring Desk
ANKARA: Turkey’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar is in southern Hatay province to inspect troops, which are taking part in ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin.
According to a statement by Turkish General Staff, Akar was accompanied by Commander of the Turkish Land Forces Gen. Yasar Guler, Commander of the Turkish Navy Forces Adm. Adnan Ozbal and Turkish Air Forces Commander Gen, Hasan Kucukakyuz.
Akar also spoke to Iran’s military chief of staff Maj. Gen Mohammad Bagheri on the phone and exchanged views on cooperation against terrorist groups in Syria, according to a military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
Earlier, Turkish General Staff said in a statement that more than 150 targets of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh in Syria’s Afrin had been destroyed at seven areas during airstrikes after the “Operation Olive Branch” was launched at 5 p.m. (GMT1400) on Saturday.
The operation was being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council’s decisions, self-defense rights under the UN charter and respect to Syria’s territorial integrity, the military added.
The military also said only terrorist targets were being destroyed and “utmost importance” was being given to not harm any civilian.
Free Syrian Army (FSA) Commander Abu Maryam on Sunday gave assurances to civilians that his fighters were only targeting PKK/PYD terrorists.
FSA fighters, backed by Turkish military, were continuing to move forward in Afrin.
“With Allah’s help, we will enter the city center soon. We ask people to not be afraid. We only target PKK/PYD terrorist, not civilians,” Commander Abu Maryam told Anadolu Agency.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday afternoon said the ongoing Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Afrin region of Syria will be completed “in very short time”.
Addressing a massive crowd in western city of Bursa before ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s Women Branch congress, Erdogan said “hopefully, we will complete this operation in a very short time.”
The president also criticized opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which called on people to take to the streets and protest against the military operation in Afrin.
“Nobody should take this call seriously… They will pay the heavy price,” Erdogan said. “This is a national struggle. We would crush anybody who opposes this.
There will be no compromises or tolerance on this issue.” On Sunday, there were reports that HDP’s lawmaker from southeastern Van province Nadir Yildirim called on local people to hit the streets against the operation. “We were saying ‘one night, we can arrive suddenly’ for the past 15 days,” Erdogan said. “We waited, waited and did that. We have much more things to do.”
Turkish President also highlighted that Afrin’s population consists of 55 percent of Arabs, 35 percent of Kurdish people who were inhabited and 6-7 percent of Syrian Turkmen people.
“Now the aim is to deliver Afrin to its true owners. What is our aim? We have 3.5 million Syrian people in our lands. We aim to send them back to their countries,” he said. Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.
The Turkish cities of Kilis and Hatay across the Syrian border are within the firing range of the PYD/PKK group from Afrin, which sits atop a hill. The terror group has also used Amanos Mountains to penetrate from Syria into Turkey.
The PYD/PKK depends on Afrin to connect to the Mediterranean from northwestern Syria. The terrorist organization has also threatened the gains made from Operations Euphrates Shield and Idlib de-escalation zone over Afrin. A quarter of Syria land and 65 percent of Turkey-Syria border are currently under occupation of the terrorist organization.
Operation Euphrates Shield began in August 2016 and ended in late March 2017 to improve security, support coalition forces and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border.
Meanwhile, five soldiers were martyred in an avalanche in eastern Bitlis province on Sunday, said provincial governor’s office.
In a statement the office said twelve soldiers were also wounded in the avalanche that happened in Hizan district of Bitlis. The avalanche hit the soldiers while they were conducting an operation against PKK terrorist group in the area, the statement said. It added that the wounded soldiers were rushed to hospital. Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) staff were conducting search and rescue operation in the area, said the statement.
Rockets from Syria injure 37: A total of thirty seven people were injured in cross-border rocket attacks in southern Turkey, according to governor of Hatay.
Three rockets fired from across the border landed in Reyhanli district in southern Hatay province.
“37 people were wounded by rockets launched from Syria. 31 out of them are discharged after outpatient treatment, while four are critically wounded,” Hatay Governor Erdal Ata told reporters after visiting the wounded people.
One of the rockets hit a house on Rifat Bahadirli Street in Reyhanli and the other one hit a workplace at Cumhuriyet Street, according to initial reports. At the same time, another rocket hit Tayfur Sokmen Street.
Later, another rocket also hit the roof of a four-story apartment, according to initial reports.
Fire brigades, security forces and Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) teams are sent to the area.
Buildings and vehicles were damaged in the attack.
The attacks came a day after Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terror groups from northwestern Afrin region of Syria.
The operation was being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council’s decisions, self-defense rights under the UN charter and respect to Syria’s territorial integrity, the Turkish General Staff has said.
The military also said only terrorist targets were being destroyed and ‘utmost importance’ was being given to not harm any civilian.
Also, Turkish Red Crescent head on Sunday said that PYD/PKK terrorists and Bashar al-Assad regime blocked the roads in northwestern Afrin region of Syria to prevent exit of civilians.
“PYD/YPG and regime in the south do not allow the civilians who want to leave Afrin. These routes are currently closed.
This is a violation of humanitarian law,” Kerem Kinik told reporters at Oncupinar Border Gate in Turkey’s southern Kilis province.
