Pro-Assad regime militias to enter Afrin to support PYD/PKK -state media

Militias allied with the Syrian government will enter the Afrin region within hours, Syria's official news agency reported on Monday, after a deal was reportedly reached at the weekend between the Syrian government and the PYD/PKK terror group.

"Popular forces will arrive in Afrin within the next few hours to support its steadfast residents against the oppression launched by Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) last month," SANA news agency reported.

Sources within the militias told dpa they will enter the region through nearby villages controlled by the government forces.

According to the reported deal, the pro-government forces will support the US-backed PYD/YPG, which is Syrian offshoot the PKK terror group that has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, in the area against the ongoing Turkey's Afrin operation on the PYD/PKK-held enclave of Afrin in the north of the war-torn country.

In 2016, PYD/PKK declared a plan for a federal system in areas under their control in northern Syria, a move that Damascus denounced as illegal.

Ties have improved between both sides ever since Turkey started an military operation into Afrin last month, some observers say.

Turkey and allied rebels have been carrying out a military operation on Afrin since January 20.