A soldier was pictured standing on the top of Mount Darmik in southwest Afrin with a Turkish flag saying this mountain “is a gift to Turkish people,” in video published by Turkey’s NTV.
Kurdish forces have not immediately commented on the Turkish advance.
Ankara alleges that the Kurdish forces use the hills of Afrin to fire missiles into Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in Ankara on Friday that the YPG has fired 82 missiles from Afrin in the past 12 days, targeting Kilis, Hatay and Reyhanli provinces, killing five civilians and injuring more than 100.
Kurdish officials in Rojava deny the cross-border fire.
After two weeks of Turkey’s offensive, the number of civilian casualties has risen to 127, Jiwan Mohammed, the head of Afrin Hospital, said on Friday. Another 168 civilians have been injured and his health facility is treating casualties around the clock, he said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported 68 civilian deaths, including 21 children and 12 women, and another 195 injured. The UK-based conflict monitor warned that the death toll may rise because some injuries are severe.
Turkey has denied the civilian casualties while at the same time accusing the Kurdish forces of using human shields.
Among the armed forces, the Observatory reported 102 deaths within the YPG and civil defence groups while 110 members of the Turkish army and their allied Syrian militias have been killed.
Afrin canton is nearly fully encircled by Turkey or Syrian territory under the control of Turkish allies. Turkey launched its Operation Olive Branch on January 20 along all its borders with the Kurdish enclave.
The YPG-led SDF stated that their forces have been clashing with Turkish forces and their Syrian allies since Thursday night on multiple fronts.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that so far 27 areas had been taken, including seven strategic hilltops.
The Observatory reported ongoing heavy clashes, explaining that “aerial, rocket and artillery shelling, the military operation in the area, and targeting by attacking helicopters and warplanes in Afrin area with hundreds of airstrikes, caused great material damage.”
This has threatened “vital” infrastructure such as Maydanki Dam, also known as 17 Nissan Dam, 12 kilometres north of Afrin city. Turkey has so far not hit the dam directly, the Observatory noted, but warned that if they do target the dam directly, it will cause a large flood.
Ankara has threatened that it could extends its operation eastward to Manbij and as far as the frontier with Iraq to clear "terrorists" from its borders. Northern Syria is under the control of Kurdish-led groups that Turkey claims are extensions of the PKK. The Kurdish parties in Syria deny the charge.
On Friday evening, the SDF reported that a village northeast of Manbij had come under fire from Turkish forces and Syrian militias. The SDF responded and clashes continued, the force announced.
US troops are stationed in the Manbij area. As of Thursday, the Pentagon said they had not seen any Turkish movement in the region, despite Ankara's threats.
