A senior Kurdish official says they've reached an agreement with the Syrian government allowing its troops enter the northern region of Afrin.

This has yet to be confirmed by Damascus. The official said the Syrian army would help Kurds repel a Turkish offensive. He emphasized the decision was purely military-motivated and had no political implications. Ankara launched an air and ground offensive against Kurdish YPG militia in Afrin last month, in a bid, as they put it, to secure the Turkish border. The Syrian government called the move an act of invasion and urged Ankara to pull back its troops. Ankara deems YPG as an affiliate to the PKK, a radical rebel group in Turkey.