Turkish troops on Sunday crossed over the Syrian border into the Afrin region on the second day of Ankara's operation against the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) Kurdish militant group, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said.
"Our units have entered Afrin from two branches at 11:05 a.m. with the Free Syrian Army. This means the land operation has begun," Yıldırım said, speaking to the editors of Turkish news publications in a meeting held in Istanbul.
Turkish forces on Saturday began a major new operation aimed at ousting the YPG from Afrin, pounding dozens of targets from the sky in air raids and with artillery. However, this was the first confirmation that Turkish ground troops were now involved in the operation inside Syria. The Turkish military says its offensive, named operation Olive Branch, aims to rid the region of the YPG.
Free Syrian Army militants.
Turkey aims to create 30 kilometres (19 miles) "safe zone" as part of its operation in northern Syria's Afrin province, Yıldırım said. The first phase would be aimed to form a secure zone on the Turkish borders between Azaz and Afrin.
Turkish Land Forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants have begun a joint advance on YPG militants in Syria's northwestern Afrin province, state run Anadolu Agency has reported.
