Turkish soldiers fire a rocket by Multi-barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) towards Syria from Reyhanli district of Hatay, Turkey, on Feb. 9, 2018. Since Jan. 20, Turkish troops, together with allied Syrian rebels, have been conducting a cross-border military operation in a bid to drive the Kurdish militiamen out of Afrin. (Xinhua)
DAMASCUS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Pro-government Syrian forces started moving toward Kurdish-controlled Afrin enclave in northern Syria on Tuesday, the state TV reported.
The move came just a day after the Syrian government media outlets said the pro-government forces will enter Afrin to support the people in the face of the Turkish-led military operation, according to the state TV.
The forces are moving toward Afrin, in the northern countryside of Aleppo Province, from Aleppo city, according to the report.
In a live broadcast from Afrin, the Syrian state TV showed the soldiers at the al-Zyara checkpoint at the entrance of Afrin.
The live broadcast also showed the Turkish shelling on an area nearby.
The Turkish army together with allied Syrian insurgents unleashed a wide-scale offensive to defeat the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG) fighters in Afrin.
The YPG media said previously they welcome any Syrian to defend Afrin from the foreign attack.
However, reports from some Kurdish officials earlier in the day said they denied having reached a deal with the Syrian government about the entry to Afrin.
Pro-government media outlets said the entry of the Syrian forces, or what they described as the "popular forces," has been delayed due to some "logistics."
