Turkey informs UK, France, China on Afrin operation

Ambassadors of Britain, France and China in Ankara were called to Turkish Foreign Ministry on late Saturday and informed about military operation in Syria's Afrin, a diplomatic official said.

Earlier, the U.S., Russia and Iranian mission heads in Ankara were also informed about the Turkish military operation, which is dubbed as "Operation Olive Branch".

Turkey has started "Operation Olive Branch" on Saturday at 5 p.m. [1400GMT] in Afrin to "eliminate terrorists of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh, and to protect the friendly and brotherly people of the region from their [the terrorists'] oppression and cruelty".

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the launch of Afrin operation against the terrorist groups.

The operation is carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council's decisions and self-defense right under UN charter, said the military.

The statement said the operation will also take sensitivity into account and no civilian/innocent person would be harmed.