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At least 260 members of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) were killed after Turkey launched an attack in Syria's Afrin district over the weekend, the Turkish army said on Tuesday.
The "Operation Olive Branch" continues successfully and as planned, the Turkish Armed Forces said in a written statement.
People with Turkish flags see off Turkish armored personnel carriers, headed to Afrin for the "Operation Olive Branch" on January 23, 2018.
One Turkish soldier was killed, another wounded in clashes on Tuesday, the statement said, making the total casualty of the Turkish army at three since the operation was launched.
The statement added Turkish military's operations in Syria will continue "until all terrorists are fully eliminated" and 3.5 million Syrian refugees return home.
US President Donald Trump plans to raise concerns with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call expected on Wednesday about Ankara’s offensive against US-backed Kurdish YPG forces in Afrin, a senior US official said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced disquiet, a few hours after Turkey’s foreign minister said it wanted to avoid any clash with US, Russian or Syrian government forces during its offensive but would do whatever necessary for its security.
Erdogan told Macron on Tuesday Turkey was taking all measures to prevent civilian casualties in the Afrin operation, sources at the presidential palace said. The two leaders agreed to stay in close contact on the issue.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had also discussed Turkey’s military operation with Erdogan by phone and that Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty had to be respected.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during the funeral ceremony for Turkish soldier Musa Ozalkan on January 23, 2018 at Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara, Turkey.
The Turkish military launched the cross border land operation to fight the Syrian Kurdish militia, targeting the YPG elements in the Kurdish enclave with Free Syrian Army fighters through airstrikes and land forces.
YPG is the military wing of the PYD, a group in northern Syria that Ankara has deemed a "terror group" for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.
The operation opened a new front in Syria's seven-year-long war.
(REUTERS)
