Turkish-backed Syrian rebel fighters fire from the town of Salwah, less than 10 kilometres from the Syria-Turkey border, towards Kurdish forces from the People's Protection Units (YPG) in the Afrin region, on February 19, 2018. Turkey's foreign minister warned against any intervention by Syrian pro-government forces alongside Kurdish militias in northern Syria, saying it would not prevent Ankara from continuing its month-old offensive. (AFP photo)
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."
