The military operation has already been condemned by Damascus and the Syrian Foreign Ministry claimed that it was a violation of Syrian sovereignty.
Meanhwhile, residents of the northern Syrian district of Afrin are frightened of the bombardments by the Turkish Air Force targeting local Kurdish militia.
#THK Turkish Air Force's 162 Filo conducted total 72 sorties using F-16C/Ds from Incirlik AB to hit 108 positions of #YPG — #PKK at #Afrin, #Syria during first phase of airstrikes today morning. Second phase of airstrikes are started since two hours ago. pic.twitter.com/9lsgumjG8i
— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) 20 января 2018 г.
"The airstrikes began two days ago, but initially Turkish planes bombed desert areas. Today, for the first time the airstrikes targeted the center of Afrin [city]. The airstrikes are everywhere and it is very scary. All my relatives, five families, gathered at our house in a large room. We do not have a basement, so we hope for walls. Women are crying, it is very scary," local resident Hevin Hassan told Sputnik.
According to Rudaw news agency, six civilians and three militiamen were killed in the Turkish airstrikes.
Earlier that day, the press service of the authorities of the Afrin canton told Sputnik that at least 10 Afrin residents were injured in the airstrikes carried out by Turkish aircraft.
According to media reports, during the airstrikes, the Rubar refugee camp for internally displaced persons from the province of Aleppo was damaged. Turkish warplanes also targeted a local airfield, which was used by the US forces for arms deliveries to Kurdish militia.
The situation at the Syrian-Turkish border has become tense recently, with the Turkish armed forces shelling the positions of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which it considers an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey and several other countries.