By May 2018 , a full insurgency had broken out in Afrin District , as YPG holdouts and allied militants , calling themselves the " Afrin Falcons " , were carrying out bombings , ambushes and assassinations against the Turkish army , the TFSA , and civilian sympathizers . The insurgents were aided in their attempts to destabilize the Turkish-led rule over Afrin by the unrest that still dominated the area . Hostilities remained high between mostly Kurdish natives and largely Arab refugees who had settled in the region after the occupation , while several TFSA groups continued to cause security problems . Despite Turkish attempts to train and disciplined them , these militias sometimes violently clashed with each other and terrorized the local civilians . One TFSA group started to adorn their vehicles with portraits of Saddam Hussein , who had committed a genocide against Iraqi Kurds . Kurds in Afrin believed this was an attempt to humiliate suspected PKK members
genocide against Iraqi Kurds
Anfal genocide
Operation Olive Branch