Redur Khalil, spokesman for the People's Defense Units (YPG), called the hope expressed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to conquer the Kurdish enclave Afrin by tonight "a daydream".
Khalil went on to say that "The city has hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and fighters will prevent the Turkish army and its terrorist allies from easily approaching Afrin," Khalil added. "The consequences (of an assault) will be disastrous and very heavy", continued the spokesman for the Kurdish fighters, before concluding: "Erdogan's words want to scare civilians to force them to flee, in line with his plan to change the demographic structure ”of the Kurdish majority area.
The spokesman's statement came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the hope that the Kurdish enclave of Afrin, besieged by Ankara troops, would fall under Turkish control by evening.
However, a source in the presidency later specified that Erdogan meant that he hopes the Kurdish city will be "totally encircled by tonight". The city has about 350.000 inhabitants and is almost surrounded by Turkish forces. Civilians have begun to leave Afrin or stock up on food for a possible siege or impending assault.