Renewed clashes have erupted on a strategic hilltop in north-western Syria captured by Turkish troops as Syrian Kurdish militiamen attempt to reclaim it.
Turkish military officials cancelled a government-organised press tour to Bursayah Hill, which separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz, due to what they described as “security concerns”.
In Syria’s province of Idlib, activists said at least 11 people were killed on Monday and a hospital was badly damaged and rendered unusable in suspected Syrian government air strikes on the opposition stronghold.
The Turkey-backed offensive against the Syrian Kurdish enclave Afrin and the violence in Idlib have overshadowed a peace conference hosted by Russia due to open on Monday between the Syrian government and the opposition.
President Erdoğan: “Our heroic soldiers made history yesterday in the area of Operation Euphrates Shield. They are making history today in Afrin. And they will make history tomorrow wherever there are terrorists along our borders.” pic.twitter.com/p8SUMbXijf
— Turkish Presidency (@trpresidency) January 28, 2018
The main Syrian opposition negotiating body has boycotted the conference. The powerful Kurdish militia which is fighting in Afrin and controls about 25% of Syria’s territory is also not attending, saying it holds Russia, the host, responsible, for the Turkish offensive.
The Turkish incursion began on January 20, with Ankara saying it seeks to drive “terrorists” away from its border and create a safe zone in the area. Turkey considers the local Syrian Kurdish militia in control of Afrin, the People’s Defence Units (YPG), as an extension of its own insurgency.
Turkish ministers said authorities detained 311 people for allegedly engaging in “terrorist propaganda” through social media postings critical of the Afrin offensive. The ministry said the suspects, who are accused of supporting Syrian Kurdish militia, were detained in the past week but did not provide further details.
The capture of Bursayah Hill was Turkey’s top achievement since the start of the Afrin offensive. The operation has so far claimed the lives of more than 50 civilians in Afrin, three in Turkish towns along the border as well as five Turkish soldiers.
Turkey’s president and the military had announced the hill’s capture on Sunday, after days of intense fighting. The Turkish forces and Syrian rebels allied with them have met stiff resistance in their attempts to advance on Afrin.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting on Monday was concentrated on the edges of the hill.
In nearby Idlib, local White Helmets rescuers said Monday’s air strikes hit the province’s largest vegetable market in the town of Saraqeb.
The Observatory said a local hospital was also hit, putting it out of service. The activist Idlib Media centre posted photographs of the exterior of the damaged building.
A day earlier, at least 17 civilians were killed in air strikes in Idlib.
