"Since the start of the Olive Branch operation a total of 2,612 members of the terrorist organizations have been neutralized," the General Staff said on Twitter.
On January 20, Ankara launched operation Olive Branch in Afrin against Kurdish militia in order to "clear" Turkey's Syrian border of the terrorist threat. Turkey considers the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish political party in northern Syria, and the People's Protection Units (YPG) to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
READ MORE: Turkey Sends Special Police Forces to Afrin — Reports
The Syrian government has strongly condemned the operation conducted by Turkey as an assault on the nation's sovereignty. Russia, in turn, has urged all parties to exercise restraint and called for respect of Syria's territorial integrity.
