ANKARA, January 21. /TASS/. The Olive Branch operation of the Turkish military against the Kurds’ units in northern Syria will have four stages, the Milliyet newspaper reported Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as saying on Sunday.

"The operation will have four stages, there will be a 30-kilometer buffer zone," the daily quoted the prime minister.

Besides, he continued in the Olive Branch operation the Turkish military "will destroy all "terrorist organizations." "Prior to the operation’s beginning, we had all necessary diplomatic negotiations," he added.

Yildirim also confirmed beginning of the republic’s military ground operation in Syria’s Afrin. "Turkey’s ground forces entered Syria’s Afrin at 11:05 on Sunday," the newspaper quoted the prime minister as saying.

On Saturday, Turkey’s General Staff announced beginning of the Olive Branch operation against the Kurds’ units near Afrin, where about 1.5 million Syrian Kurds live. On the first day, the Turkish Air Force hit 108 targets in Afrin’s seven locations and then returned home. According to Sky News Arabia, six civilians and three military were killed in the air strike. The Turkish General Staff, however, insisted all the killed and injured "are terrorists.".