Intense battles continue between Turkish fighters, Kurds in Syria's Afrin

DAMASCUS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles continued Tuesday between the Turkish forces and the Kurdish-led troops on the outskirts of the Kurdish-controlled Afrin enclave in northern Syria, a monitor group reported.

The battles between the Turkish forces and the Kurdish-led fighters stretched from northeastern Afrin to its southwestern part, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Turkish warplanes also struck several targets in Afrin on Tuesday, killing two children and two women on Tuesday, the observatory said.

It added that 22 civilians have so far been killed since the Turkish side declared the beginning of their military campaign against the Kurdish fighters in Afrin on Saturday.

The battle of Afrin has been long anticipated, as Turkey made clear that it was going to unleash an offensive along with the Ankara-backed Syrian rebels against the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Afrin.

Turkey deems the YPG as a terror group belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Activists said intense fighting and shelling are rocking the outskirts of Afrin but no major progress was made yet by the Turkey-backed rebels. Enditem