In the coming days, swiftly, we will lay siege to the center of the town of Afrin,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan added.
Erdogan also said, "Possible Syrian forces deployment into Afrin was halted through our communications."
The Turkish president added the siege will prevent militants of the Kurdish People's Protection Unites (YPG) from “bargaining” with the Syrian government.
Turkey began the offensive on January 19 against the YPG, which controls Afrin. It associates the Kurds there with the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting for autonomy on Turkish soil since 1984.
The offensive prompted local authorities to ask Damascus for help.
The plan to besiege Afrin comes amid reports that the Syrian army is set to deploy troops to the region to support the Kurds in the face of Turkey’s aggression.
A senior Syrian Kurdish official said on Sunday that the region’s Kurdish authorities and the Syrian government had reached a deal for the Syrian army to enter Afrin to face the Turkish military.
On Monday, Syria’s state television said Damascus-backed forces would reach Afrin “within hours.”
