First aid convoy enters Afrin since Ankara's offensive began in January

An aid convoy entered Afrin in northern Syria on Thursday for the first time since Ankara launched Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) on 20 January.

The 29-truck convoy carrying food, water and medical supplies will benefit 50,000 people in the region bordering Turkey. 

"This is our first convoy to Afrin since the start of the offensive on the area," said Ingy Sedky, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to AFP.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said the trucks had reached Afrin and the town of Tal Rifaat.

More than 140 civilians have died since Ankara began its campaign last month, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Ankara denies the tally and has said it takes "utmost care" to avoid civilian casualties.

Since 20 January, thousands have fled Afrin, either to adjacent towns or regime-controlled areas.

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Fighting between Turkish-backed rebels and the YPG continued on Thursday, with a YPG spokesman insisting the Turkish campaign in the area would not succeed. "They won't be able to remain any part of our region," Birusk Hasakeh said.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International called reports of indiscriminate shelling by both sides "deeply troubling".

Ankara views the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency against Turkey for nearly 35 years. Both the US and European Union classify the PKK as a "terrorist group".

But the YPG is also a key component of the US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance fighting against the Islamic State group.

Last month, Ankara's plan to extend its campaign to nearby Manbij, where US troops are located, would have risked bringing the two NATO allies into direct conflict.

Turkey has recently criticised the US and France for suggesting a 30-day ceasefire passed at the UN Security Council following the Syrian regime's bombardment of Eastern Ghouta should include Afrin.

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