Afrin

Responding to the comments made by the U.S. State Department, Turkish Foreign Ministry on May 5 denied reports that citizens of Syria's northern province of Afrin were allegedly not being allowed back in their homes.

Turkey will maintain its presence in the northern Syrian province of Afrin until it has been secured, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on May 4. 

Offensive operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been paused since Turkey's "Operation Olive Branch" into Syria's Afrin district started, U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Eric Pahon has said.

The Turkish military has opened an emergency services hospital in Afrin, northwestern Syria, about a month after Turkish troops and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured the Afrin district center from the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

At least 9,880 Syrians in Turkey have returned to their country through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province in last three-and-a-half months, Turkish officials said, reported Anadolu Agency

Arms and ammunitions used during the military operation in Syria's Afrin province are consistent with international law, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar has said.

The Turkish military has been continuing to clear landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) in the northwestern Syrian district of Afrin after Turkish forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) took control of the enclave on March 18 as part of "Operation Olive Branch."

The Turkish government has denied Lebanese media reports claiming Turkish warplanes bombed the archaeological site of Brad near Syria's Afrin district during "Operation Olive Branch" on March 24. 

Turkey’s military operations in neighboring Syria “will not stop” with the district of Afrin and will continue in Manbij and Idlib, President Recep Erdoğan vowed on March 23.

Four Turkish soldiers were killed on March 22 in eastern Turkey and Syria's northwestern district of Afrin, officials have said.