Turkish forces surround town in northern Syria

BEIRUT -- Turkey said Tuesday its troops and allied Syrian fighters have encircled the Kurdish-held town of Afrin in northern Syria, putting hundreds of thousands of civilians under siege and marking a significant military advance in the seven-week operation.

Turkey launched its assault on the border enclave on Jan. 20 to drive out Syrian Kurdish forces it views as "terrorists" linked to Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey. The Turkish military said the siege of Afrin, the main town in the enclave of the same name, began Monday after the military took control of "critical areas."

A passage out of Afrin remained partially open, and thousands of people have reportedly fled the town, heading toward nearby areas controlled by the Syrian government. Syria's Al-Ikhbariya TV showed cars, trucks and tractors loaded with civilians driving out of the town.

Panic is spreading in the town as the Turkish forces approach, and some civilians have come under fire when they have tried to leave, according to residents and Syrian Kurdish officials.

Azad Mohamed, a 32-year old resident, said his relatives were fired upon as they tried to escape Monday, forcing them to turn back. He said he can't decide whether to risk the journey out of Afrin with his two children or to remain in place.

"Most of the time, I swear, I am acting like a madman. When I sit down for two minutes, I get up again and start pacing to ease the tension," he told The Associated Press in a series of text messages. "Every time I remember they (Turkish forces) are closer, I think of my wife and kids and parents. I am afraid, and I feel like there is a volcano in my belly."

Col. Moataz Raslan, commander of one of the Turkey-allied opposition groups, said the Kurdish fighters in Afrin should surrender or leave the area. He said it was the Kurdish fighters who were preventing civilians from leaving and firing on those who do.

But Mohamed said most of the Kurdish fighters are from the area and would never give up their hometown. "Their families will never forgive them if they leave," he said.

A top Syrian Kurdish official, Fawza Yousef, described intense Turkish shelling of the town and said they expect Turkish forces to "invade" soon.

Elsewhere in Syria, dozens of civilians were evacuated from the besieged, rebel-held Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, arriving on foot and in buses to an army checkpoint set up by the Syrian and Russian militaries.

The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports health facilities in eastern Ghouta, said 31 medical cases were evacuated along with their families, amounting to 170 civilians. SAMS said some 1,034 people still inside the enclave need immediate medical evacuation.

The United Nations says it observed the evacuation of 147 civilians, including 10 critical cases, from Douma, the largest town in eastern Ghouta. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters there are plans to send another humanitarian convoy to Douma "in the coming days."

Some 400,000 people are estimated to be trapped in eastern Ghouta, which has been under a crippling blockade and heavy bombardment for weeks. Syrian government forces have split the region into three separate pockets in recent days in rapid advances against rebels.

The largest rebel group in the area, the Army of Islam, reached a deal with Russian forces to evacuate the wounded, but nevertheless vowed to fight to the end.

"We will stay in our Ghouta to defend it until we achieve one of two good things," spokesman Hamza Bayraqdar said in a video statement, using an Islamic expression meaning victory or martyrdom.

Opposition activists say more than 1,100 civilians have been killed since the latest offensive began in February. In Douma, residents and displaced families were sleeping in shops and in the streets as basements and underground shelters filled up.