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Syria war: Pro-government forces enter Kurdish-held Afrin Syria war: Pro-government forces enter Kurdish-held Afrin
(about 1 hour later)
Syrian pro-government forces have entered the Kurdish-held border enclave of Afrin, reports say, raising the risk of clashes with Turkey. Syrian pro-government forces have entered the Kurdish-held area of Afrin to confront what state media called "aggression by the Turkish regime".
It comes a day after Syria's state news agency said "Popular Forces" would be sent there to counter "the Turkish regime's attack". The government was asked to send forces by a Kurdish militia that has been trying to repel an offensive by Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels.
Turkish troops and pro-Turkish Syrian rebels have been fighting Kurdish militia in Afrin for the past month. Photos showed "Popular Forces" fighters passing through a checkpoint in armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks.
Turkey has warned Syrian forces against intervening in support of the Kurds. Shortly afterwards, Turkish forces reportedly shelled the area.
Syrian state TV showed pictures of pro-government paramilitaries preparing to enter Afrin on Tuesday. Turkey had threatened to confront government forces if they intervened.
Media controlled by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which supports the Syrian government, and the Syrian Kurdish news agency Anha said "Popular Forces" militia had crossed into the enclave. Why is Turkey attacking Afrin?
It is not yet clear how many fighters have moved in or where they will be deployed. Turkish leaders say they want to clear the Kurdish enclave of members of the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which they consider a terrorist group.
Turkey has vowed to clear Afrin of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which it considers a terrorist group. They say it is an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in south-eastern Turkey for three decades.
Turkey sees the militia as being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey and has fought for Kurdish autonomy there since 1984. The YPG denies any direct military or political links with the PKK. The Syrian Kurds deny any direct organisational links to the PKK - an assertion backed by the US, which has provided the militia and allied Arab fighters with weapons and air support to help them battle the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Kurds have run their own affairs in Afrin since Syrian forces withdrew in 2012 to concentrate on fighting rebels elsewhere in the country. The Turkish air and ground assault on Afrin, dubbed "Operation Olive Branch", began on 20 January.
Syria's government has called the Turkish offensive on Afrin a "blatant attack" on its sovereignty. Since then, Turkish troops and Syrian rebels have taken about 45 villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The UK-based monitoring group says the fighting has left at least 205 Syrian rebels and 219 Kurdish militiamen dead, along with 112 civilians. Turkey says 32 of its soldiers have been killed and denied that there have been any civilian casualties in Afrin.
Why is the Syrian government intervening?
The government has denounced the Turkish offensive as a "blatant attack" on its sovereignty.
Soon after it began, the Kurdish authorities in Afrin called on the government to "carry out its sovereign obligations" and send troops to help defend the border from Turkish attacks.
The government, which has so far avoided conflict with Kurdish forces since the start of the civil war in 2011, did not immediately respond to the appeal for help.
But on Tuesday state media reported that members of "Popular Forces" had arrived in Afrin to "support the locals against the aggression waged by the Turkish regime" and to confront IS, which has no known presence in the area.
A reporter for the official Sana news agency said Turkish artillery had targeted the convoy after it crossed into the Kurdish enclave, as well as media personnel accompanying it.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency later reported that Turkish troops had fired "warning shots" at "pro-regime terrorist groups trying to advance" towards Afrin, forcing them to retreat about 10km (6 miles).