TURKEY claimed today that Syrian troops had retreated from Afrin after being shelled by its invading forces.

A convoy of around 50 vehicles, consisting of pro-government militia rather than regular Syrian troops, entered the canton yesterday, apparently in response to Kurdish pleas for help against the Turkish military.

But a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed the Syrians had retreated east of Aleppo.

“It appears that their aim was a little bit of a show and a little bit of propaganda,” Ibrahim Kalin said, reiterating Turkish threats that Syrian forces would be considered “legitimate targets” if they took sides with Kurdish YPG militia in defence of their country.

Kurdish and Syrian commanders denied the claim and said the militia had returned fire when attacked by the Turks.

The Syrian army itself has not engaged in Afrin, with Turkish, Syrian and Kurdish leaders all attributing the fact to Moscow’s influence.

Mr Erdogan says he received assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would convince his Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad not to confront the Turkish invasion, which is aimed at crushing Kurdish fighters allied to the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The pro-government militia chief acknowledged that Russian influence had “delayed” the arrival of the army but that Damascus was helping the Kurds by deploying “popular forces” instead.

“The Russians have been playing it like this for a while. They pressure the Turks with the Kurdish card (and vice versa),” Kurdish politician Fawza Yousseff said.

The YPG reported Turkish bombing raids on towns in Afrin were continuing.