UPDATE 1600 GMT: Turkish-supported Free Syrian Army troops move into the village of Bali, north of Afrin:

UPDATE 1515 GMT: Bashar al-Assad has condemned the “brutal aggression” of the Turkish military on Afrin as supporting “terrorism.”

State news agency SANA quoted Assad in a meeting with former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi:

The brutal Turkish aggression against the Syrian city of Afrin cannot be separated from the policy used by the Turkish regime since day one of the Syrian crisis that is basically founded on helping terrorism and terrorist groups regardless of their names.

The Assad regime has said it will shoot down any Turkish fighter jets in Syrian airspace but has shown no sign of action so far.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry called for a quick end to Turkish operations. Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, “The continuation of the crisis in Afrin may lead to restrengthening of Takfiri-terrorist groups in Syria’s northern areas and once again fan the flames of war and destruction in this country.”

UPDATE 1500 GMT: France has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the urgent session is to discuss both the Turkish offensive on Afrin and pro-Assad attacks on Idlib Province in northwest Syria and the East Ghouta area near Damascus.

Le Drian said he spoke with Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday morning.

UPDATE 1430 GMT: Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım says the Turkish ground assault on the Kurdish canton of Afrin has begun.

Yıldırım told reporters that Ankara’s troops entered Syria at 11:05 am local time, alongside Free Syrian Army rebels.

The Prime Minister said a four-phase operation will confront “8,000 to 10,000 terrorists” to create a safe zone with a depth of 30 km (19 miles), covering 10,000 square km (3,860 square miles).

The first phase would be establishment of a secure zone on the Turkish borders between opposition-held Azaz and Afrin.

Seeking acceptance of the Turkish operations, Yıldırım claimed that Islamic State fighters are in Afrin.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech in Bursa Province, “God willing, this operation will be finished in a very short time.”

Turkish officials claim the Kurdish YPG militia fired three rockets on Reyhanlı in southeast Turkey, killing one Syrian national and injuring dozens of people.

The Turkish military began airstrikes on a Kurdish canton in northwest Syria on Saturday, while the Assad regime and its allies took advantage by moving into a base in opposition-held Idlib Province.

Turkish F-16 warplanes pounded parts of the Afrin canton, a day after Ankara launched the promised offensive with scores of artillery shells on positions of the Kurdish YPG militia. The Turkish military said about 108 targets were struck, while Free Syrian Army rebels moved to a frontline on the Afrin border. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said “necessary activities” would be carried out on the ground from Sunday.

The Government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave the ironic label “Operation Olive Branch” to the attacks, repeating its declaration that it was eliminating a “terror force” from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdistan Democratic Unionist Party (PYD) and its YPG militia to be part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK, which has battling the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK for more than 30 years.

The YPG said the strikes killed six civilians and three fighters, one from the YPG and two from its all-female affiliate YPJ. The attacks also wounded 13 civilians, a spokesman said.

“We will defeat this aggression, like we have defeated other such assaults,” the YPG asserted.

Hevi Mustafa, a senior member of Afrin’s civilian administration, said, “Most of the wounded are civilians. There are clashes. There’s artillery and shelling. Our units are fiercely responding to this occupation.”

As the airstrikes were announced, Russia confirmed that it withdrew its military personnnel from the area. The head of Turkish General Staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, and intelligence chief Hakan Fidan visited Moscow on Thursday to discuss the impending operations with Russian counterparts.

The Pentagon repeated the US line, “We encourage all parties to avoid escalation and to focus on the most important task of defeating ISIS.”

Turkey’s decision to attack was spurred last week by revelation of a US plan to train a 30,000-strong border force, half of which would be drawn from the US-supported, YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stepped back from the proposal, claiming it had been “misrepresented”, after a discussion with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, but Erdoğan used the incident to say Turkey will “drown” the “terror army” building on its border.

Erdoğan pointed at the US as he announced the latest operations in a speech to members of the ruling AKP on Saturday:

If there are some today who think that we will withdraw from our struggle for our independence and future when threatened with ‘we could lose soldiers’ and who think they will be able to persuade us to take what they dole out to us, it is our duty to show that they are mistaken.

A State Department official said Rex Tillerson spoke to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday.

A Pentagon spokesman assured that the US, despite its backing of the Syrian Democratic Forces, recognised Turkey’s security concerns about the PKK, noting that the US has designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, the second contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces’ “border forces” — described as such despite the US backtracking — were presented in a graduation south of Hasakah city in eastern Syria. SDF officers and trainers and some US personnel oversaw the ceremony.

About 250 troops were in the graduating contingent.

SDF GRADUATION 20-01-18

Pro-Assad Forces Move Into Abu Duhour Base

A pro-Assad offensive took advantage of the shifting battlefield to move into the Abu Duhour airbase in southeast Idlib Province, after weeks of assaults and a recent rebel counter-offensive.

Pro-Assad outlets posted photographs of troops inside the base, apparently after Turkish-supported rebels had pulled back.

Through the winter the pro-Assad offensive — defying a Russian-proclaimed de-escalation zone — re-entered Idlib Province, almost of all which was taken by the opposition in spring 2015, and closed within 2 km (1.2 miles) of Abu Duhour. However, earlier this month the Turkish-supported rebel counter-offensive pushed the pro-Assad forces back, capturing a series of villages.

The sudden advance of pro-Assad units on Saturday raised speculation of a deal between Turkey and Russia. Ankara was given a free hand, with the Free Syrian Army, to move on Afrin. In return, Turkey and the rebels were to pull back from Abu Duhur and nearby points.

Latest Airstrikes on Medical and Rescue Facilities in Idlib

Meanwhile, the Assad regime and its Russian ally continue their airstrikes on civilian sites in Idlib Province, including attacks on medical facilities and civil defense centers.

The Russians used incendiary munitions on two consecutive nights last week, and there have been strikes on Sunday morning:

Attacks also continue in neighboring northern Hama Province: