Turkish air strikes pounded the Syrian border region of Afrin and fighting raged on two fronts as Ankara pursued its offensive against the Kurdish enclave. A monitoring group and Kurdish sources said yesterday Turkey's air force had stepped up its raids on the 10th day of operation "Olive Branch", which sees Turkey providing air and ground support to Syrian opposition fighters in an offensive against Kurdish militia in northwestern Syria. Ankara has pushed forward with the operation to force the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the region despite international concerns and reports of rising civilian casualties. Turkey has cracked down on criticism of the operation and yesterday detained all the top members of the country's main medical association, including its chief. In reaction to the offensive, the Kurds were not attending peace talks Tuesday in the Russian city of Sochi, aimed at resolving Syria's almost seven-year civil war. Turkish jets were hitting Kurdish positions in the towns of Rajo and Jandairis, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Syrian rebels backed by Turkey "were engaged in fierce battles against Kurdish forces" in the two towns, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Observatory, which uses a network of sources to monitor Syria's war. "Turkey's aerial campaign against Afrin has escalated since Monday," he added. A spokesman for the YPG, which Ankara considers a "terror" group, said the strikes had been relentless. "Since yesterday, the bombardment by Turkish aircraft has not stopped in some areas," said Brusk Hasakeh. It was unclear how many civilians remained in Rajo and Jandairis as many had already fled to Afrin town, the capital of the district. An AFP journalist yesterday heard consecutive strikes hitting areas surrounding Afrin town. The Observatory says at least 67 civilians have been killed since the start of the operation on January 20. Turkey strongly rejects such claims, saying it is doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties in the operation. At least 85 YPG militiamen have died, the Observatory says, as have 81 fighters from the rebel groups fighting with Turkish backing. Turkey says seven of its soldiers have been killed. Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported yesterday that two villages in the Afrin region had been "cleared" of the YPG.
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