MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Crowds of refugees are leaving the Syrian border city of Ras al-Ayn and its area after Turkey began a military operation there, the news agency SANA reports.

Turkish warplanes and artillery are pounding Kurdish positions in the villages of al-Mushrifah, Khirbet al-Banat, al-Asadiya and Bir Nuh.

"The Turkish army’s aggression has forced civilians in Hasaka Province to abandon their homes," the agency said. An exodus of refugees is reported from another border city: Tell Abyad in the north of Raqqa province. The Turkish artillery is currently shelling Ayn Issa nearby.

Earlier, the Kurdish combatants affiliated with the coalition Syrian Democratic Forces declared total mobilization in the border areas for resistance to Turkish forces.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the beginning of another transborder operation in Syria code-named Peace Spring with the aim of eliminating the terrorist threat against his country and letting Syrian refugees return home.

Turkey earlier carried out two military operations in Syria: Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch. As a result, a buffer security zone was created between the border cities of Azaz and Jarablus. The city of Afrin was occupied.