Since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in northwest Syria on 20 January 2018 - supposedly to clear terrorist groups from the Kurdish stronghold of Afrin - thousands of Syrian refugees have been unable to return home to Afrin and the surrounding area. According to Newsmax reporting on 30 March 2018, religious minorities such as Yazidis and Christians have also been
targeted by Turkish troops as part of a "premeditated ethnic cleansing of Kurds". Turkish troops are said to be fighting in alliance with the Free Syrian Army, which allegedly includes Islamic militants from Islamic State and al-Qaeda. According to the article which was based on a report by the Kurdish news service "Rudaw" on 29 March 2018, Islamic fighters have been going door to door asking for people to state their religion. The report claims that at least some non-Muslims were "brutalized or murdered".
Henriette Kats, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Open Doors cannot confirm that Christians were among those killed during door to door searches. Local contacts think this was probably just a rumor spreading. Nevertheless, the current situation in Afrin and surrounding villages is serious. Most Christians are in refugee camps at various locations outside of Afrin. These Christians all have a Muslim background and there is great concern about radical Islamic rebels fighting alongside Turkish troops, who will not tolerate apostates from Islam. Local Christians are not likely to return to Afrin in the near future."
