Turkish occupation army attacked Afrin Canton and neighboring area with its warplanes on January 20, 2018.

During the intense attack which started in 16:00 and is going on till this moment, at least 100 points were targeted including civilian areas, positions of YPG-YPJ and Revolutionary Forces. The occupation army continues to target civilian areas with 72 fighter jets. Afrin city center, Rubar IDP camp and some of civil institutions in Afrin were also targeted. At least 13 civilians were injured. 1 YPG and 2 YPJ fighters and 6 civilians have been martyred in these attacks. Simultaneously with the intense airstrike, occupation army’s troops and terrorists controlled by them attempted to cross border into Afrin in Kurdo and Balia villages of Bilbil district. YPG and YPJ fighters repelled attacks immediately, soldiers have withdrawn.

Occupying Turkish army and its terrorists, after failed to enter Afrin by attacking on the ground, try to scare people of Afrin and displace them to FSA held areas. Turkey’s attack directly to civilians of all districts of Afrin clearly shows their despair against YPG and YPJ forces.

We know that, without the permission of global forces and mainly Russia, whose troops located in Afrin, Turkey cannot attack civilians using Afrin air space. Therefore we hold Russia as responsible as Turkey and stress that Russia is the crime partner of Turkey in massacring the civilians in the region.

We, as General Command of YPG in Afrin, state that Turkey cannot defeat our free will and resistance with its warplanes. It is seen that, till this moment, no one has fled from Afrin and abandoned their homeland. On this basis, we once again state our determination to protect our land and people. People’s Defense Units and Woman’s Defense Units will defend Afrin under any circumstances against Turkish fascism. We call on our people to join the ranks of defense.

YPG General Command in Afrin | January 20, 2018