"The information that the Syrian army has retreated and could not enter Afrin under attack from the Turkish Armed Forces is not true. Yesterday, a large group of soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), linked to the Syrian army, arrived in Afrin to, jointly with the Kurdish self-defense units of the YPG, confront the Turkish military and the [Free Syrian Army] FSA," Haseke told Sputnik.
However, the YPG representative stated that at least two servicemen were killed during Turkey's shelling.
"While approaching Afrin, they were attacked by Turkish artillery, which resulted in the death of two fighters and three wounded. Despite this, they arrived in Afrin and joined detachments of the YPG. At present, the fighting is ongoing at the front in Afrin. The fighters arrived in the city with heavy weapons and armored vehicles and, together with YPG squads, confronted the aggressors. Today there were no dead or wounded among the militiamen," he specified.
The Syrian people's forces arrived in Afrin to voluntarily defend their land. Afrin is part of the Syrian territory. Our doors are open to anyone who intends to fight against Turkey and the groups it supports, "he said.
Heretofore, reports from the Syrian state news agency SANA were saying that a new group of Syrian forces has arrived to Syria's Afrin on Wednesday to help Kurdish fighters repel a Turkish military operation.
"New units of the popular militia have arrived in Afrin to support its population in the fight against the Islamic state terrorist organization [Daesh, banned in Russia], as well as the continuing Turkish aggression in the region," a SANA correspondent reported from the city.
Previously, the agency reported that on February 20, Syrian government popular forces arrived in Afrin to fend off Turkey's military offensive on the city and fight the Daesh terrorist group (banned in Russia).
The same information has been shared by the Arabic Al Masdar news outlet, which stated that the forces of the National Defence Forces entered the region of Afrin and joined the Kurdish militants in Afrin, urging Syrians for unity against what they called "against all foreign aggressors".
On Wednesday, the official representative of the Kurdish militia has confirmed to Sputnik that the Syrian popular forces had entered Afrin despite Turkish shelling.
"We maintain contact with the Syrian army, authorities in Afrin and the Kurdish self-defense units (YPG). The forces sent [to Afrin] are directed from the Syrian government, from the command of the Syrian army. Erdogan turned out to be a bad road policeman today, saying that he stopped the movement of Syrian forces that were heading to Afrin. These words are wrong, the forces are is already in Afrin," YPG spokesman Reizan Hedu said.
According to him, dozens of journalists came under artillery fire at the entrance to the canton of Afrin, while covering the movement of the Syrian forces' column's movement toward Afrin.
READ MORE: WATCH: Alleged Video of Syrian Government Forces Entering Afrin
"The [Turkish] president, the government and the Turkish media made statements with a confessional implication, stating that these forces are Shiite. We in Syria are proud of our confessional and national diversity. We have been rebuffing Turkish aggression for 32 days, which in military terms has been unsuccessful. They may have advanced to a number of positions, but in general the military campaign has been unsuccessful," he added.
Meanwhile, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin stated on Wednesday that Turkey was in talks with the Syrian government, with Russia and Iran as mediators.
"We are not talking about the official contact between us and the Syrian regime. There is a certain mechanism created by us as one of the three guarantor countries within the framework of the Astana process and aimed at coordinating actions in Syrian territory. We send messages to the Syrian regime through Russia and Iran. An indirect contact does exist, but in emergency situations, if necessary, our intelligence can establish direct or indirect contact. At the present moment there is no question of direct contacts between Ankara and Damascus in political or other spheres," Kalin stated.
Speaking about Syrian pro-government militia's attempt to enter Afrin to support Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the spokesman called the move totally unacceptable.
"There have been reports that YPG and the [Syrian President Bashar] Assad regime reached an agreement. We approached the reports with caution. Yesterday, we have witnessed an attempt of 40-50 vehicles coming from Aleppo to enter Afrin. [The attempt] was foiled with the help of artillery," Kalin said, as quoted by the Haberturk media outlet.
What Happened?
Despite the fact that the information was repeatedly debunked by Ankara and Kurdish forces over the past several days, Syrian popular forces have entered Afrin area, with troops being deployed in specified centers to support the Kurds fighting against Turkish forces. However, the Syrian army had to retreat when the Turkish military responded with warning fire.
Commenting on the information, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad stated, "I have no information about where the Syrian army is currently [located] in Afrin. We believe that what Turkey had done is aggression and we will fight it by all means. It is an aggression against the Syrian people and its territorial integrity."
When Turkey started its military campaign in Syria’s Afrin on January 20, Damascus resolutely condemned the operation as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
READ MORE: Claims of Syrian Army Deployment in Afrin Are 'Black Propaganda' — Erdogan's Rep
On February 19, Syrian state television channel Ikhbariya reported that pro-Syrian government forces would enter Afrin "within hours," which was denied by the YPG representative in the area Brusk Haseke, who claimed they would announce it officially if anything changed.
Earlier that same day, senior Kurdish official, Badran Jia Kurd, told Reuters that Syrian Kurdish forces and the country’s government had agreed on the deployment of Syrian army troops along border positions in the Afrin region to curb the Turkish campaign, and that the military would enter the beleaguered Afrin within the next two days.
Last week Rojhat Roj, commander of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin denied reports of Kurdish fighters reaching an agreement with Damascus to have Syrian troops deployed to the region to repel Turkish forces.
READ MORE: Afrin's Kurds Agree With Syrian Gov't for Army to Help Fight Turks — Official
At the same time, YPG commander Sipan Hemo insisted that the Syrian army should take most of the responsibility for the defense of Afrin against what he described as a Turkish invasion, calling on Damascus to “immediately send in reinforcements to the border region with Turkey.”
Earlier Mayadeen, the Lebanese broadcaster, reported that Damascus and the Kurdish militias had sealed a deal, and that the Syrian armed forces were about to enter Afrin to deter Turkish forces.
A source familiar with the situation told Sputnik that the Syrian Armed Forces would enter the territory near the border with Turkey in the district of Afrin in the next few days.
Turkey’s Warning
Following Syrian government forces’ attempted advances towards Afrin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement, claiming that the Syrian convoy had to retreat under the Turkish warning fire in the area of the besieged Afrin.
“Tonight about a dozen pickups were seen moving towards Afrin. But then there was shelling [from the side of the Turkish Armed Forces], and they had to return. So far, this is all over. Yesterday we spoke with respected [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and respected [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani; we have agreements on this topic. Unfortunately, some terrorist groups sometimes make erroneous decisions themselves, this is unacceptable, and they will be held accountable for it,” Erdogan told journalists in Ankara.
Ankara has repeatedly warned Damascus against supporting the Kurds, with President Erdogan calling the decision to enter Afrin unacceptable and vowing to encircle the city to speed up the “Olive Branch” operation.
“Turkish forces will encircle Afrin’s center in the upcoming days. Thus, we will cut off any external help, so that nobody could strike a secret bargain. We will show those, who want to create a terrorist corridor on Turkey’s southern border, that it’s not an easy task,” Erdogan said at a meeting with lawmakers of the ruling Justice and Development Party.
Erdogan proceeded to say that the possible deployment of Syrian forces in Afrin had been “halted through our communications.”
READ MORE: No One Can Stop Turkish Forces if Syrian Army Enters Afrin — FM
Prior to his speech, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin lambasted reports about the Syrian troops’ entry into Afrin, calling them “black propaganda.”
“It is quite clear that the reports on the agreement between the regime and the YPG are black propaganda. However, this does not mean that there cannot be any secret and dirty bargaining there,” Kalin said, as quoted by the Hurriyet newspaper.
While Damascus has denounced the campaign as a violation of Syria's sovereignty, Ankara, stressed that its military advance in the region was not aimed against Syria's government, explaining that the offensive "was targeting only terrorists."
Devlet Bahceli, Turkish opposition Nationalist Movement Party leader, has also supported the official stance, saying that the Turkish forces would clear Afrin of terrorists “no matter the consequences.”
“Turkish soldiers will enter Afrin, and our flag […] will go up on a flagpole towards the height it deserves,” Bahceli told his party’s parliamentary group.
Int’l Reaction
Turkey began its military operation in Afrin in response to reports that the United States had envisaged creating a 30,000-strong border force, comprised of the Kurdish Democratic Forces (SDF), at the Turkish border, which Ankara dismissed as a “terrorist army.”
"Turkey will not allow the creation of a terrorist corridor along its borders, as well as a terrorist army. All necessary measures will be taken in this regard," the Turkish National Security Council said in a statement in mid-January.
Following Syrian government forces entry into Afrin, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had a conversation with Turkish President and agreed to create working groups to address the situation in Afrin.
“The Secretary just days ago sat down and met with his counterpart and also with President Erdogan. They agreed to sit down and have a series of meetings, some working groups that they put together where we can look at determining ways that we can better confront the situation there [Afrin],” said Heather Nauert, State Department spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has urged the halt of the military campaign in Afrin and to prevent confrontation between the parties involved in the conflict in Syria.
“It is necessary to stop these military operations. The more battles, the less access we have to people who need help, whether people were displaced due to clashes in the Afrin region or in Eastern Ghouta. Every new day of fighting brings new suffering. Every day of fighting increases the risk of confrontation between different powerful parties involved in this conflict,” said Stephane Dujarrik, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, commenting on the escalation of the situation in Afrin.
Reports About Chemical Attacks in Afrin
On Saturday, the Syrian SANA news agency reported, citing doctors from Afrin, that at least six people had been sent to a hospital after the Turkish troops allegedly used chemical weapons.
Prior to that, on Friday, Reizan Hedu, a spokesman for the Kurdish self-defense forces, said that the Turkish Army used napalm during its operation in Afrin, which is prohibited by international conventions.
Responding to these reports, Turkish Foreign Ministry's spokesman Hami Aksoy stated on Wednesday that they didn't correspond to reality.
"Not a single civilian died as part of the Olive Branch operation. However, a negative campaign is ongoing against the operation. There have been media reports about a chemical attack. This absolutely does not correspond to reality," Aksoy said at a briefing in Ankara.
The spokesman stressed that other states were being informed about Turkey's operation in Afrin on an ongoing basis.
"Our foreign minister has held talks with over 20 foreign colleagues, we have talked to the representatives of 34 countries and informed them about the course of the operation and continue to do that not only at the official level but also through holding conferences, via media and social networks," Aksoy said.
“Olive Branch”
Since January 20 Turkey has been conducting a military operation, codenamed “Olive Branch,” against the Kurdish forces in Syria’s Afrin, an area controlled by the US-backed YPG, which is considered by Ankara to be affiliated with the Kurdistan’s Workers’ Party (PKK), regarded by Turkey as a terrorist organization.
READ MORE: Erdogan: Turkish Army Will Encirle Afrin, Speed Up Operation
Ankara launched the military campaign in response to the announcement of the United States that Washington would train a 30,000-strong border security force on the territory within Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance dominated by the YPG allegedly associated with the PKK, banned in Turkey.