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Erdogan: Turkey's forces took control of Syrian town of Afrin

ISTANBUL - Turkey's president said Sunday that allied Syrian forces have taken "total" control of the town center of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia, which said the fighting was still underway.

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish flag and the flag of the Syrian opposition fighters has been raised in the town, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People's Defense Units, or YPG.

 

"Many of the terrorists had turned tail and run away already," Erdogan said.

 

Turkey's military tweeted that its forces are now conducting combing operations to search for land mines and explosives. The army tweeted a video showing a soldier holding a Turkish flag and a man waving the Syrian opposition flag on the balcony of the district parliament building with a tank stationed on the street.

 

A Kurdish official, Hadia Yousef, told The Associated Press the YPG fighters have not fled the town, but have evacuated the remaining civilians because of "massacres." She said clashes in the town were still underway.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.18.18, 11:30