Dozens of pro-Syrian forces killed in Turkish airstrikes
BEIRUT – Turkish warplanes struck pro-Syrian government forces in the northwestern Afrin region of Syria on Saturday, killing at least 36 of them, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It said this was the third time in 48 hours that Turkish warplanes had struck pro-government forces that entered Afrin last week in support of the Kurdish YPG militia as it fights to stave off an offensive by Turkey and allied Syrian militias.
Afrin offensive: 36 pro-Syrian government soldiers ‘killed in Turkish air strike’
At least 36 pro-Syrian government troops have been killed by a Turkish air strike in the region of Afrin, a monitoring group says.
The strike targeted a camp at Kafr Jina in the northern Syrian region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
The pro-government troops entered Afrin two weeks ago to back Kurdish forces.
They are fighting a Turkish military offensive that was launched to clear Kurdish groups from Afrin.
Turkey considers the Kurdish militiamen there terrorists.
The Syrian government has denounced the offensive as a “blatant attack” on its sovereignty and, according to state media, forces were sent in to support the Kurds.
The air strike followed one of the bloodiest days for Turkish troops since they began the offensive in January.
Eight Turkish soldiers were killed and another 13 were injured on Thursday in fighting in Afrin.
Five “heroic comrades fell as martyrs and seven were wounded”, an initial statement from Turkey’s military said. A second statement announced three more soldiers had been killed and six more wounded.
No official details of the clashes were given but the private Dogan news agency said Kurdish fighters used tunnels to ambush Turkish special forces in the Keltepe district.
A Turkish helicopter sent in to rescue the wounded was hit and had to turn back, the report added.
Thousands of civilians in Afrin have fled their homes since Turkey’s offensive began.
The Turkish government says the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia is an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in south-eastern Turkey for three decades.
The YPG denies any direct organisational links to the PKK.
Neither side has released much information about fatalities, making the death toll in Afrin difficult to gauge.
The UK-based SOHR says more than 141 civilians have died but Turkey denies this, saying only combatants are targeted.
Last month, Amnesty International said indiscriminate shelling had killed scores of civilians in Afrin.
Yet another new flashpoint?
Analysis by Sebastian Usher, BBC Arab Affairs Editor
When pro-government militia forces edged into Afrin last month, it wasn’t clear what their strategic purpose would be.
Videos showed a small group of militiamen being welcomed to Afrin city by Kurds there as their saviours. But it didn’t seem likely that they would play much more than a symbolic role, allowing the Syrian government to vaunt a new territorial initiative but at no major risk.
In fact, it seemed that it might be a way of de-escalating the latest conflict in Syria after Turkey launched its operation against Kurdish fighters there.
A deal to allow the Syrian government to take over much of the control of the area might suit many of the parties involved. It might even be a less bad option for Turkey, allowing it to turn down the intensity of its offensive.
But if the reports are true that pro-government forces have been badly hit by Turkish airstrikes, that would appear to undercut this interpretation, raising the prospect of yet another new flashpoint in Syria.
Wonderful views on that!
Thanks for having the time to write about this issue. I truly appreciate it. I’ll post a link of this entry in my site.
485891 31742Yay google is my king aided me to uncover this outstanding website! . 894272
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker
who had been conducting a little research on this. And he in fact bought me breakfast because I stumbled upon it
for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU
for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending
the time to discuss this topic here on your internet site.
Good day I am so happy I found your blog, I really found you by mistake,
while I was browsing on Digg for something else, Anyways I am here now and
would just like to say thank you for a incredible post and a
all round entertaining blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time
to read through it all at the minute but I have saved it and
also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up
the awesome work.
Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow
you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look
forward to new updates.
Very shortly this site will be famous among all blogging users, due to it’s pleasant articles
or reviews
Everything posted was very logical. But, think on this,
what if you wrote a catchier title? I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website, however what if you added a title that makes people want more?
I mean TIME TO TAKE ERDOGAN OUT FOR BOMBING OUR TROOPS –
TRUMP SHOULD GIVE THE ORDER TO KILL ON SIGHT | The New Boston Tea Party © is
kinda vanilla. You could look at Yahoo’s home page and watch how they create post headlines to grab people
to click. You might try adding a video or a pic or two to grab people excited about everything’ve written. Just my opinion, it might make your posts a little bit more interesting.
Heya great website! Does running a blog like this require a large amount of work?
I have very little expertise in computer programming however I was hoping to
start my own blog in the near future. Anyhow, should you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners please
share. I know this is off subject nevertheless I just needed to ask.
Kudos!
You should take part in a contest for one of the most useful sites on the net.
I’m going to recommend this blog!
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a friend who has been doing a little homework on this.
And he actually ordered me dinner because I stumbled upon it for him…
lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for
spending some time to discuss this topic here on your web site.
I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt,
you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something too few
men and women are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I found this during my hunt for something regarding this.
This article provides clear idea designed for the new users of blogging, that really how to do
blogging and site-building.
I enjoy, lead to I discovered just what I used to be having a look for.
You’ve ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day.
Bye
My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find nearly all
of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for.
Would you offer guest writers to write content for you personally?
I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on a lot
of the subjects you write about here. Again, awesome web site!
Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers?
I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on.
Any recommendations?
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually recognise what you are talking approximately!
Bookmarked. Kindly additionally consult with my web site =).
We could have a link change arrangement among us
Hi there, yeah this post is in fact pleasant and
I have learned lot of things from it regarding blogging.
thanks.
Hello friends, its impressive article about teachingand completely defined,
keep it up all the time.
I always used to read post in news papers but now as I
am a user of web so from now I am using net for content, thanks to web.
Hi there, after reading this amazing piece of writing i am too happy to share my familiarity here with mates.
You made some decent points there. I looked on the net for additional information about the issue and
found most people will go along with your views on this website.
Spot on with this write-up, I actually feel this web site
needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the advice!
Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this site regularly,
this website is in fact fastidious and the users are genuinely sharing nice thoughts.
At this moment I am going away to do my breakfast, once having my breakfast coming over again to read other news.
Hey there! I’ve been following your site for a while now
and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Lubbock Tx!
Just wanted to say keep up the excellent job!
certainly like your website however you need to
test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of
them are rife with spelling problems and I find it
very troublesome to inform the truth nevertheless I’ll certainly come back again.
Hey, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer,
it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
Other then that, amazing blog!
Hi to every , as I am truly eager of reading this webpage’s post to be
updated regularly. It includes pleasant material.
I didn’t know that.