13 Killed in Turkish Shelling in Afrin Region

Syrian Kurds report that 13 people were killed in a city called Jindires in the Afrin region of Syria due to shelling by the Turkish army, although a monitoring group has reported a higher death toll. According to Reuters, the Turkish army began its operations in the Afrin region in January, aiming to drive out the People's Protection Units, which Turkey considers terrorists and allied with Kurdish rebels in the country. A spokesperson for the People's Protection Units in Afrin told Reuters: 'In total, 13 people, including three children, have been killed.' He added that as a result of the Turkish shelling, 22 civilians were injured between the village of Rajo and the center of the region, which is also called Afrin. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects and publishes incidents from the civil war, reported that heavy Turkish shelling resulted in 17 deaths and 92 injuries. This organization added that many are still under the rubble, and the death toll may rise. The Turkish government has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in its Afrin operations. Bekir Bozdağ, the Deputy Prime Minister and main spokesperson for the Turkish government, stated on Monday that Turkey does not harm civilians and that the Turkish army is capable of distinguishing between combatants and civilians. He added: 'All claims regarding harm to civilians by the Turkish army are baseless and unacceptable.' The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on February 24 to establish a 30-day ceasefire across Syria, although it specified that groups considered terrorists are not included in this ceasefire. The Turkish government claims that this resolution does not include the People's Protection Units, composed of Kurdish militants, and has rejected requests from Western countries for a ceasefire. Since the beginning of this offensive operation, Turkish forces and their allied Syrian rebels have captured remote areas of the Afrin region located on the Turkish border. The Turkish government considers the People's Protection Units to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been engaged in conflict with government forces for several decades.