Turkey, allies say siege of Syria’s Afrin underway

BEIRUT: Turkish troops and allied Syrian opposition fighters have begun a siege of the Syrian Kurdish-held town of Afrin, the Turkish military said on Tuesday, marking a significant advance in Ankara’s seven-week operation that also encircled hundreds of thousands of civilians. The military said in a brief statement that the siege of Afrin, the main town in the enclave of the same name, had begun on Monday. It said the military took control of “critical areas” of the town but did not provide details.