BEIRUT: Clashes between Turkish-backed rebel factions vying for control in Syria’s Afrin have left 25 fighters dead since Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.
At least 10 people were also wounded Monday in an explosion targeting military police officers from the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army, it said.
Clashes erupted Saturday between the majority of the pro-Ankara rebels – including the FSA – against Shuhada’a al-Sharqiyyah, a group of around 200 fighters accused of "disobeying" Turkish forces and "committing abuses," according to the activist group.
Fourteen of the 25 killed since were said to be Shuhada’a al-Sharqiyyah fighters.
"The clashes have provoked terror among civilians," head of the observatory Rami Abdul Rahman said.
Turkish tanks with heavy weaponry had entered the area and fired upon the headquarters of the group, the observatory said. The troops had been stationed in Afrin since a curfew was imposed on civilians Saturday evening in an attempt to avoid bloodshed.