The Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said ground troops had crossed the Syrian border and entered Afrin, in Syria’s Aleppo province, on Sunday morning, January 21.

Anadolu, the Turkish state-run news agency, reported the arrival of Turkish forces in Afrin, and said that airstrikes and shelling, which began on January 20, would continue.

Syrian Kurdish militia the YPG, however, said Turkish troops had tried to enter Afrin on Sunday morning, January 21, but had been forced back, as reported by Reuters. The media arm of the YPG released a video described as showing a Turkish tank being destroyed on this date.

Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Yildirim said that Turkey plans to establish a 30km “safe zone” in Afrin. Credit: YPG Press Office via Storyful