Turkey establishes security in almost 70 percent of Syria's Afrin

Over 70 percent of Syria’s Afrin region has been secured during an ongoing border security mission, Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a live interview with the TRT Haber news channel on Thursday.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on January 20 to clear the Afrin enclave in northwestern Syria from the YPG, which Turkey says is linked to the PKK. The PKK is considered to be a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU.

In his interview, Kalin also pointed out that Turkish forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are expected to clear Syria’s Afrin of terrorists “very soon,” adding that Ankara had no intention of handing over the town to the Bashar al Assad's regime following the completion of its military offensive in the region.

More than "3,500 terrorists have been neutralised" since the start of Operation Olive Branch in Syria's northwestern Afrin region, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on Thursday morning. 



Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralised" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

According to Anadolu Agency correspondents on the ground, four more villages were cleared of terrorists on Thursday during the ongoing operation.

Since the launch of the operation, the Turkish military and FSA have liberated 237 locations, including five town centres, 198 villages, 39 strategic mountains and hills, and one YPG base.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.



The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defence rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.



The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and that "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.