Turkish armed forces have advanced into the Azaz district of Syria, east of the Afrin region, state Anadolu agency reported. This comes as Operation Olive Branch against Kurdish forces enters its third day. The Turkish military have thus continued their operation’s ground phase, which began on Sunday. Ankara said 153 targets were struck as of Sunday evening, including units of Kurdish forces and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey would not take a step back from the operation in the Afrin region. He also said that Ankara had an agreement with Russia regarding its military operation against a US-backed Kurdish militia. Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan stressed that he wants to support the national security and territorial integrity of Syria as Turkey “has no designs on territories of another country.” READ MORE
