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Units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), supported by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), have captured the border village of Hammam and two nearby hills from Kurdish YPG/YPJ forces in the Syrian area of Afrin, the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported on January 23.
Meanwhile, clases continued for the strategic Birsaya Mount east of Afrin. The both sides claim that they control the area.
According to reports, at least 2 Turkish soldiers had been killed in clashes between YPG/YPJ and the TAF since the start of the operation in Afrin.
The TAF launched a military operation dubbed Operation Olive Branch against Kurdish militias in Syria’s Afrin on January 20. Since then, the TAF and the FSA have been pressuring Kurdish forces on multiple fronts. According to the Turkish authorities, the goal of the operation is to establish security along the Turkish-Syrian border as well as to build a 30km-deep buffer zone in Afrin.
