In a statement on Saturday morning, Turkish Armed Forces said they were in full control of Afrin canton and were working on clearing explosives.
Earlier in the day, Turkey’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar had said that just a few villages remained to be taken.
“We will arrive in the suburb of Aleppo called Nubl-Zahra and Afrin will be completely secured soon,” he said during a security conference in Ankara, Anadolu Agency reported.
Tens of thousands of civilians from Afrin are sheltering in the areas of Nubl and al-Zahra, north of Aleppo and under pro-regime control.
The Kurdish YPG force has vowed to continue its resistance in Afrin through guerrilla-style warfare. They carried out an operation in a village Friday, claiming to have killed a number of fighters, reported ANHA news, which has ties to the force.
Kurdish leaders have not immediately commented on Turkey's claim of being in full control of Afrin.
At least 167,000 people have been displaced from Afrin because of the recent fighting, according to the most recent figures from the UN’s humanitarian agency. Between 50,000 and 70,000 civilians are estimated to have remained in Afrin city after it fell to Turkish forces and their Syrian allies on Sunday.
The Kurdish Red Crescent society sent a 19-truck convoy of humanitarian assistance to Afrin’s displaced population, including a mobile clinic and food aid. The goods were provided by local councils in eastern Rojava, the self-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Syria, and the Kurdistan Region.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Syrian Red Crescent, and World Health Organization (WHO) are also providing aid and assistance to the displaced civilians.
Turkish aid agencies have also delivered aid within Afrin.
Turkey launched its Operation Olive Branch against Afrin on January 20, framing it as a counter-terror offensive. Ankara considers the YPG and the ruling political party PYD branches of the PKK, a named terror organization.
The Kurdish groups deny the terror charge.
The international community has largely condemned Turkey’s action, saying it is destabilizing and a distraction from the war against ISIS.
Despite lack of international support, Ankara has repeatedly stated its intention to continue its military operation eastward.
“After seeing this situation, our brothers and sisters living in the region from Tal Rifaat to Manbij and from Tel Abyad to Ras Al Ain [Sari Kani] are sending messages, calling on Turkey to go and restore security, peace, and order. God willing, we will not leave their call unanswered. We will soon be with all those brothers and sisters from the Syrian border who have directed their eyes and hearts to us,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a provincial congress of his AKP party in Samsun.
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