Jandaris residents flee to Afrin amid Turkish advancementFebruary 26, 2018 - 10:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The city of Afrin received a major number of villagers from the nearby Jandaris region as they fled the advancement of Turkish forces and bombardment of their homes on Saturday, February 24, Al-Masdar News reports citing video footage by Ruptly. Turkish forces seized a number of sites at the Jandaris axis over the past week, according to local media. Villagers can be seen arriving in all sorts of vehicles from cars to trucks to tractors, piled high with their belongings as they enter the city of Afrin. One of those fleeing, Mohammed explained: “We have escaped from the village of Jumana, we are being bombed at random, the planes are always above the sky, we are all fleeing”. Another fleeing villager cited the Turkish president: “Erdogan and the Free Army are bombing us, they have demolished our homes” while another stated bluntly “his goal is to exterminate the Kurdish people”. The Turkish military launched airstrikes and rockets on Kurdish positions in Afrin shortly after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of the military operation dubbed ‘Olive Branch.’ The Turkish President also declared that the next destination for Turkish forces would be Syria’s Manbij. Turkey views the YPG, which is active in northern Syria, as an extension of the banned militant group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Photo. AP Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |