Ankara, which considers the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria a "terror" group, has vowed to continue and possibly expand the operation despite international concern and strained relations with Washington.
In reaction to the offensive, the Kurds have said they will not attend peace talks aimed at resolving Syria's long civil war which will be held Tuesday in the Russian city of Sochi. Turkish air strikes and artillery fire were continuing Monday in northern and western parts of a Afrin, a predominantly Kurdish region of Syria on the border with Turkey, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
"Fighting has intensified on several fronts," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Observatory, which uses a network of long-established sources to monitor Syria's war. At least 14 people, including five children, died Sunday in Turkish air strikes on the region, the Observatory said.