Syria's Afrin falls largely to Turkish forces amid massive displacement

DAMASCUS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels have largely captured the predominantly-Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria on Sunday amid large waves of displacement, according to reports and sources.

The Turkish forces and its allied fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels have advanced inside Afrin, with thousands of people fleeing to nearby areas, according to pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

It added that over two-thirds of the city fell to the Turkish forces.

Sources in Aleppo told Xinhua that people were fleeing in droves, with the majority of them leaving their areas in Afrin and seeking refuge in nearby areas, mainly in the town of Nubol.

Meanwhile, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said over half of the city fell to the Turkish forces, adding that 1,500 fighters with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) have been killed since the Turkish campaign started against Afrin in January.

The FSA, a Turkish-backed rebel group, said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

After midnight, Turkish forces entered parts of Afrin and the situation continued to snowball until the entire city largely fell to the Turkish military campaign.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched the operation to wipe out the People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers as a terror group affiliated to the PKK, from northwestern Syria. Enditem