The Turkish government has denied reports that an ancient Christian site near the Syrian city of Afrin has been damaged by its airstrikes.
Syria's antiquities department recently reported that the Turkish air raids near Afrin had damaged the Julianus church and the Brad Monastery in the archaeological site of Brad.
"Turkish regime planes bombed the archaeological site of Brad, 15 kilometres (about nine miles) south of Afrin city," the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums said in a statement.
The department went on to note that Brad, which also contains tombs dating back to the Roman period, has been on UNESCO's world heritage list since 2011.
Syrian antiquities chief Mahmoud Hamoud claimed that the air raids had destroyed many archaeological buildings such as the tomb of Saint Maron of the Maronite community as well as "the Julianus Church, which includes the mausoleum and is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, built at the end of the 4th century."
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy disputed the claims in a written statement, saying the reports were "completely untrue."
"No airstrike targeting the Brad [ancient] site, Julianus Church and Brad monastery has been carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces so far," he said, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
Aksoy maintained that there has been proof that Julianus Church was destroyed by armed groups in 2013.
"Contrary to the claims, every kind of measure has been taken not to damage regional and cultural structures, historical artifacts and archeological sites since the start of the operation," he added.
The airstrikes were part of Turkey's "Operation Olive Branch," which was launched on Jan. 20 to clear People's Protection Units (YPG) militants from Afrin. The YPG has been considered by the Turkish government to be an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency against Turkey since 1984.
In January, Turkey was accused of damaging the 3,000-year-old iron age neo-Hittite temple of Ain Dara as it moved forward with its bombardment of the Afrin region.
The Turkish military, however, insisted that "religious and cultural buildings, historical sites, archaeological ruins and public facilities are absolutely not among the targets" of the operation.
That same month, Syria's former antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim expressed concern about a group of 40 ancient villages in the Afrin region, which has been included by UNESCO on its world heritage list and described as "Ancient Villages of Northern Syria."
The Turkish armed forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have declared full control of Afrin on March 18. The seven-year civil war in Syria has ravaged its archaeological heritage and has killed more than 340,000 people and displaced millions.
