<p>A crowd chanted slogans against the US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces and waived Turkish and Free Syrian Army militia flags in Azaz, Syria, on January 19, in support of a Turkish attack on Afrin.</p><p>Protesters held an array of signs calling the Syrian Democratic Forces terrorists, with some using the name PKK, which refers to the Kurdish militia Turkey considers a terrorist group.</p><p>Another sign read, “I am Syrian, I am Kurdish, I am against the terrorist PKK.” A man speaking in an interview said he welcomed the liberation of Afrin from the “mercenaries,” referring to the Syrian Democratic Forces, whom he said were dividing Syrians.</p><p>On January 18, the Free Syrian Army, which is allied with Turkey, said</a> it was preparing to fight Syrian Democratic Forces from the south, and Kurdish news outlets reported</a> Turkish and SDF forces exchanged fire near Afrin on January 17.</p><p>Shells hit a psychiatric hospital in Azaz overnight on January 19, which local news outlets reported</a> were fired by the SDF. Credit: Thiqa Agency via Storyful</p><br />
