Turkish forces have hit pro-Syrian government troops in the country’s north-western Afrin region, killing at least 36 people.

The strike targeted a camp in Kafr Jina on Saturday, the third time in 48 hours Turkish warplanes launched attacks on pro-government forces in Afrin, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Pro-Syrian government forces entered Afrin last week in support of the Kurdish YPG militia, who are the target of a campaign, launched by Turkey and allied Syrian rebel fighters in January, codenamed Operation Olive Branch.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a YPG-led militia alliance, said in a statement that Turkish airstrikes had targeted positions held by the Syrian army’s “popular forces” in a five-hour barrage.

The SDF did not say where, or give a death toll, but the Observatory said at least 36 people had been killed.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his country’s forces had captured the town of Rajo from militants.

The Observatory said the Turkish army was in control of about 70 per cent of the town, roughly 16 miles northwest of Afrin city.

It estimates more than 300 fighters on all sides of the conflict have been killed since the Turkish operation launched in Afrin at the beginning of the year.

In a statement, the SDF said a group of Turkish forces and allied Syrian factions had infiltrated Rajo, where it said clashes were continuing between SDF forces and the rebels.

Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ Show all 10 1 /10 Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ The reconstructed Khaled Bin al-Waleed Mosque is framed by a damaged building, in the old city of Homs AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ Sumaya Bairuty, 38, an English-language teacher who works in the capital Damascus, speaks with The Associated Press while as she walks to her parents house in the war-damaged Bab Dreib neighborhood of Homs AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ Bairuty walks to her parents house AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ A family that returned to live in their apartment inside a heavily damaged building hang their carpets in the sun AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ A car drives through a devastated part of the old city AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ A pigeon keeper watches his pigeons fly from the roof of his home AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ Two people carry goods on a bicycle in the war-damaged neighborhood AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ Children play football in the street AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ It has been almost four years since the last rebels and civilians withdrew from the remaining strongholds in the ancient heart of Homs in Syria AP Inside Syria's obliterated ‘capital of the revolution’ A man rides his bicycle past a banner showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad AP

Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

It is judged to be a terrorist group by the Turkish government, the United States and the European Union.

However, the YPG has also served as an important ally for the United States in the fight against Islamic State.