Turkish forces pushed on Friday deeper into northeastern Syria in their quest to clear the area from Kurdish fighters, causing a mass displacement of civilians and casualties on both sides.
Residents fled with their belongings loaded into cars, pickup trucks and motorcycle rickshaws, while others escaped on foot. The UN refugee agency said tens of thousands were on the move, and aid agencies warned that nearly a half-million people near the border were at risk — in scenes similar to those from a few years ago, when civilians fled ISIS militants.
On Friday morning, plumes of black smoke billowed from the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad as Turkey continued bombarding the area.
A Turkish Defense Ministry statement reported the death of a soldier and said three soldiers were wounded in the action but didn't provide details.
Separately, the ministry said 49 more "terrorists" were "neutralized" in the incursion, in reference to Syrian Kurdish fighters. It said the total number of Kurdish fighters killed so far numbers 277. Those figures could not be independently verified.
Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish fighters terrorists linked to a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey and says the offensive is necessary for national security.
Turkish officials said the Kurds have fired dozens of mortars into Turkish border towns the past two days, including Akcakale, killing at least six civilians, including a 9-month-old boy and three girls under 15. On the Syrian side, seven civilians and eight Kurdish fighters have been killed since the operation began, according to activists in Syria.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said the offensive was progressing "successfully as planned." But the Syrian Democratic Forces -- the autonomous Kurds' de facto army -- scrambled to repel multiple ground attacks along a roughly 120 kilometer long segment of the border.
"There is heavy fighting between the SDF and the Turks on different fronts, mostly from Tal Abyad to Ras al-Ain," the Syria Observatory for Human Rights said.
It said Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies were using air strikes, heavy artillery and rocket fire.
"The SDF are using tunnels, trenches and berms" in their defense operations, the Observatory added.
The UN refugee agency said tens of thousands of people have fled their homes since Wednesday, while the Observatory put the figure at more than 60,000.
"The humanitarian impact is already being felt. An estimated 100,000 people have already left their homes," the UN said in a statement.
"Most are being sheltered in host communities but an increasing number of them are arriving at collective shelters in Al Hassakeh City and Tal Tamer (and) many are seeking refuge in schools."
