ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By TRT TV, click to see the full-size map On March 7, the Turkish Army and its proxies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) captured the town of Mash’alah of the Shara district, only 8km north of the city of Afrin, according to FSA-linked sourcces. Additionally, the Turkish Army reportedly captured the Maydanki Dam and the village of Hallubi Sagher northeast of Mash’alah. Earlier, the Turkish Army and its proxies advanced in the southern part of the Shara district and  captured the villages and towns of Kafr Janneh, Tall Hamu, Shirkan, Metinli and Qatma and Tel Hamu . Kurdish and Turkish sources reported that the Turkish Air Force (TAF) had stepped up its aerial operations against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the center of the Jandaris district, west of Afrin. At least two women were injured in the TAF’s bombardment. Meanwhile, the YPG press announced that YPG fighters had repelled several attacks by the Turkish Army and its proxies on their positions

On March 7, a booby-trapped car exploded at a checkpoint of the Free Syrian Police in the southern entrance of the city of Jarabulus in the area in northern Aleppo occupied by Turkey during its Operation Euphrates Shield. According to the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Zaman al-Wasl, 11 civilians were killed and two members of the Free Syrian Police were injured in the explosion. A day earlier, a similar booby-trapped car targeted a HQ of the Free Syrian Police in the city of al-Bab, located southwest of Jarabulus. According to Syrian opposition and Turkish sources, one civilian was killed and more than five others were injured in the attack. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, Syrian opposition activists have accused the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of carrying out the both attacks in response to  its recent loses in Afrin. An unnamed security source in the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) told the Syrian pro-opposition

Map of the situation around Hays during December 2017 On March 7, fighters loyal to Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi repelled several attacks by the Houthis on their positions in the southern part of the Hays district in the western province of al-Hudaydah, according to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV. Pro-Hadi fighters supported by Apache attack helicopters of the Saudi-led coalition killed 30 Houthi members. The Hays district was captured by the Saudi-led coalition and pro-Hadi forces on December 10, 2017 . The district is one of the key positions in western Yemen as it overlooks the highway toward thh al-Hudaydah port. In response to the Houthis’ attacks on Hays, Saudi-led coalition warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes on positions, camps, ammo depots and headquarters of the Houthis in the districts of al-Jarrahi and Tuhayat, south of Hays. Al-Arabiya said that more than 100 Houthis fighters had been killed and dozens others had been injured in the S