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On January 25, the Turkish Army and its proxies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured the villages of Abudene and Kurni around Bulbul district northeast of the city of Afrin, according to Syrian oppositions source.
TSK/ÖSO Bülbül kasabasının Kuzey doğusunda bulunan Kurna köyünü terör örgütü YPG/PKK’dan temizledi..
Buda videosu.. pic.twitter.com/XNUpTl4WXb— Son Kale Türkiye (@SonKaleTurkiye2) January 25, 2018
From its side, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) announced that its fighters repelled several attacks of the Turkish-backed FSA near Bulbul district. YPG fighters destroyed three battle tanks of the Turkish Army while rappelling the attacks according to Kurdish sources.
Meanwhile, Turkish Air Force (TAF) carried out more airstrikes on the YPG positions in Jandaris and Rajo districts northwest and north of Afrin. According to the YPG, over 30 civilians have been killed in the TAF bombardment on Afrin area so far.
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In a related development, the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria in Afrin area released an official statement in which it called on the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to counter the Turkish Army attack on Afrin and to defend the Syrian border. The Democratic Federation in Afrin also stressed that the YPG will continue its defensive operations against the Turkish Army.
“We call on the Syrian state to carry out its sovereign obligations towards Afrin and protect its borders with Turkey from attacks of the Turkish occupier… and deploy its Syrian armed forces to secure the borders of the Afrin area,” the Democratic Federation in Afrin said in its statement, according to the Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA).
The new statement of the Democratic Federation in Afrin area contradicts to the early statement of Kurdish officials in Afrin released on January 24. The statement said that the YPG will not allow the SAA to enter the area. According to this, the new statement is likely aimed at holding the SAA the responsibility for the Turkish attack on Afrin.
