Turkey, FSA clear 16 more villages in Afrin

By Adham Kako and Eshref Musa

AFRIN, Syria/ANKARA, Turkey

The Turkish Armed Forces and Free Syrian Army (FSA) liberated 16 more villages and a strategic mountain in Syria's northwestern Afrin region on Sunday.

According to Anadolu Agency correspondents on the ground, Turkish troops and the FSA cleared the villages of Saghir, Alameda, Khalidiah and Jalbul and Kafr Batna, close to the Afrin center.

Qeretepe and Pastel villages in Sheran, northeast of the city of Afrin, and Kurk village in Jinderes were also cleared of terrorists.

Later on Sunday, eight more villages – Khujamanli, Savan Kabir, and in the northwestern Rajo district, and Qujaman in the southwestern Jinderes district, Sulqli and Alibey in the northern Bulbul district, and Kawkabah near Afrin’s center -- were cleared of terrorists.

Mount was also captured during the operations.

A strategic airport called , located between Jinderes and was liberated from terrorists.

Since the beginning of the operation, Turkish and Free Syrian Army forces have freed 189 locations, including five town centers, 151 villages, and 33 strategic areas.

Meanwhile, Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) continue to dispatch humanitarian aid to the villages liberated from the terrorist organization YPG/PKK.

TAF performed first-aid to the terrorist group members wounded in Bocite Mount and sent them to Turkey in an armored ambulance, AA correspondent reported.

Turkish troops provided humanitarian aid to the civilians who were taken from Kafr Safra to region.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as 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-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.