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Turkish President: Syrian forces tried to enter Afrin, retreated after Turkey's shelling

20 February 2018 18:39 (UTC +04:00)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that a convoy of pro-Syrian government forces, which tried to enter the besieged Syrian city of Afrin, retreated under the Turkish warning fire in the area. The Syrian armed forces have confirmed neither entering Afrin, not the retreat, APA reports quoting Sputnik.

The Turkish president called Syria's forces' decision to enter Afrin unacceptable, warning that it would meet a proper response from the Turkish side.

"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.

According to the previous reports of the Turkish news agency Anadolu, the Syrian military retreated some 10km (6.2 miles) away from Afrin.

YPG representative in Afrin Brusk Haseke told Sputnik earlier in the day that the Syrian government forces have entered Afrin besieged by the Turkish military. The Syrian armed forces, however, yet to confirm this information.