DAMASCUS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pro-government Syrian fighters on Tuesday entered the Kurdish-controlled city of Afrin in the northern part of the war-torn country to confront the Turkish-led military operation.
Afrin in Aleppo Province has been battered for a month by Turkish forces, who, together with allied Syrian insurgents, started a wide-scale offensive on January 20 to defeat the Kurdish People Protection Units (YPG) fighters there.
The YPG said in a statement that they welcomed the arrival of the pro-government forces.
In a live broadcast from Afrin, the Syrian state TV showed the soldiers arriving at Al-Ziyara checkpoint at the entrance of Afrin.
The broadcast also showed Turkish shelling striking a nearby area while the TV presenter was reporting live. It turned out to be warning shots fired by the Turkish side.
The YPG militia is regarded by Ankara as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey.
However, the United States has supported the YPG to combat the Islamic State in Syria.
On Monday, Turkey warned the Syrian Government against sending troops into Afrin to back the YPG militia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held two separate phone conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to warn against such a move.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called for direct negotiations between Damascus and Ankara to resolve the Afrin crisis.
Washington, while saying it backs Turkey's right to defend itself, has called on Ankara to show restraint.
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Erdogan agreed to hold further meetings and create working groups to ease the tension in Afrin.
The YPG has controlled Afrin since 2012 after Syrian government forces withdrew from the Kurdish-majority area.
