On February 2, the Turkish Army and its proxies from the Free Syrian Amy (FSA) captured Darmiq Mount northeast of the city of Afrin, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency. Turkish sources released a video that shows Turkish commandos raising the Turkish flag on the peak of Dramiq.
Turkish army captured also the Darmik mountain, after #Turkey-backed rebels captured the strategic town Bulbul yesterday from #YPG in northern #Afrin. #Syria pic.twitter.com/TDTFlFAJ8c
— Ali Özkök (@Ozkok_) February 2, 2018
Turkish artillery supported the Turkish Army and the FSA attack and targeted the positions and fortifications of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) northeast of Afrin.
[VIDEO] #Turkey continues to shell PYD/PKK targets in #Afrin https://t.co/URUGMkDBYZ pic.twitter.com/atC7LESULR
— ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) February 2, 2018
From its side, the YPG announced that its fighters repelled an attack of the Turkish Army and the FSA on their positions in the Rajo district north of Afrin. YPG fighters killed four FSA fighters and destroyed a vehicle of the FSA while they were repelling the attack, according to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA). Moreover, Kurdish fighters destroyed a vehicle of the Turkish Army with an ATGM around the Rajo district.
ANHA also reported that the YPG had conducted a hit and run attack against the positions of the Turkish-backed FSA in the Sheikh al-Hadid district northwest of Afrin. During the attack, two vehicles and two armored vehicles of the FSA were destroyed by the YPG, according to the source.
Meanwhile, Syrian pro-government activists reported that several units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) 5th Assault Corps had been deployed near the Afrin area. The activists said that the units will be rapidly deployed inside Afrin if an agreement between the Damascus government and the YPG is reached.
However, many observers believe that such agreement is very unlikely now as several YPG officials had previously denied that there are any negotiations with the Damascus government over the Afrin area.
