Turkey carried out airstrikes on the city of Afrin in northern Syria on Thursday night, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The 20-day-long Turkish military campaign against Afrin used to be focused on the countryside of the Kurdish-controlled enclave, but on Thursday night Turkish warplanes struck the city, the report said.

The airstrike came amid the ongoing military showdown between the Turkish forces and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the countryside of Afrin.

The YPG is regarded by Turkey as the Syrian branch of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for autonomy in the southeast of Turkey.

A recent UN report said at least 15,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in Afrin on Jan. 20.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported that 142 civilians have been killed and 345 others were wounded in the military operation so far.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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