RENEWED clashes have erupted on a strategic hilltop in north-western Syria captured by Turkish troops as Syrian Kurdish militiamen attempt to reclaim it.
Turkish military officials cancelled a government-organised press tour to Bursayah Hill, which separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz, due to what they described as “security concerns”.
In Syria’s province of Idlib, activists said at least 11 people were killed yesterday and a hospital was badly damaged and rendered unusable in suspected Syrian government air strikes on the opposition stronghold.
The Turkey-backed offensive against the Syrian Kurdish enclave Afrin and the violence in Idlib have overshadowed a peace conference hosted by Russia that opened yesterday between the Syrian government and the opposition.
The main Syrian opposition negotiating body has boycotted the conference. The powerful Kurdish militia which is fighting in Afrin and controls about 25 per cent of Syria’s territory is also not attending, saying it holds Russia, the host, responsible for the Turkish offensive.
The Turkish incursion began on January 20, with Ankara saying it seeks to drive “terrorists” away from its border and create a safe zone in the area. Turkey considers the local Syrian Kurdish militia in control of Afrin, the People’s Defence Units (YPG), as an extension of its own insurgency.
Turkish ministers said authorities detained 311 people for allegedly engaging in “terrorist propaganda” through social media postings critical of the Afrin offensive. The ministry said the suspects, who are accused of supporting Syrian Kurdish militia, were detained in the past week but did not provide further details.
The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders criticised the detentions last week as a government “witch hunt” against critics.
The capture of Bursayah Hill was Turkey’s top achievement since the start of the Afrin offensive. The operation has so far claimed the lives of more than 50 civilians in Afrin, three in Turkish towns along the border as well as five Turkish soldiers.
Turkey’s president and the military had announced the hill’s capture on Sunday, after days of intense fighting. The Turkish forces and Syrian rebels allied with them have met stiff resistance in their attempts to advance on Afrin.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting on Monday was concentrated on the edges of the hill.
Also yesterday, the Observatory said Turkish airstrikes have once again hit near Afrin’s main dam, for the third time since the offensive began. There were no reports of damage to the dam, which provides water and electricity to the Kurdish enclave, home to hundreds of thousands of people.
In nearby Idlib, local White Helmets rescuers said yesterday’s air strikes hit the province’s largest vegetable market in the town of Saraqeb.
The Observatory said a local hospital was also hit, putting it out of service. The activist Idlib Media centre posted photographs of the exterior of the damaged building.
A day earlier, at least 17 civilians were killed in air strikes in Idlib.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here