On the 24th of February and after negotiations that lasted for days, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, to the reluctant approval of Russia. The UN demanded that all civilians be evacuated from the besieged suburb, and be provided with necessities of life. All conflicting parties, besides IS, Al-Nusra and Al-Qaida, committed to the resolution.



Although a proponent of the ceasefire, Turkey has also refused to commit to the 30-day ceasefire. Erdogan has insisted that Turkish forces and Turkish backed FSA will continue military operations in Afrin.

Amid the so-called “Operation Olive Branch”, the Turkish army has continued to indiscriminately strike on Afrin (North Syria), after being engaged in a large-scale operation in the region for over a month now.

Ankara seeks to destabilize the control zones of YPG/YPJ.

Hami Aksoy, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, claims that Afrin was not part of the UN resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, claims that he specifically emphasized the integrity of Afrin, which Ankara denies.

As a consequence, U.S. spokesperson Heather Nauert proposed that Turkey should re-read the resolution. At a press conference, Erdogan provided the final verdict on the diplomatic disagreement. According to Ahval, Erdogan recently said “We do not require anyone’s permission for this job. You cannot leave a dragon half-alive. That’s how this job will finish.”

Controversially, Hami Aksoy has also insisted that ‘’Operation Olive Branch’’ is directed towards YPG/YPJ and IS, which he considers to be a threat to ‘’national security’’ and the ‘’integrity of Syria’’. Thus far, there is no evidence of IS members being in YPG/YPJ controlled areas of North Syria.



Turkey has also escalated its attacks on Afrin even further. According to Anadolu Agency, Turkey sent special forces personnel from police and gendarmerie to Afrin, earlier this week. These forces are known to have been stationed in southeastern Turkish-Kurdish cities of Silopi, Cizre, Idil, Yuksekova, Nusaybin and Sirnak in 2016, where they oversaw curfews, and were tasked with punishing civilians who contravened them.



The attacks on southeastern Turkey destroyed large parts of the cities, including UNESCO world heritage sites. The latest attacks on Afrin have been condemned by Oxfam, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Other signatories of the ceasefire have yet to respond to the latest statements made by President Erdogan.