A picture taken on February 20, 2018 shows smoke from Turkish artillery fire near the northern Syrian city of Afrin. (AFP photo)

ANKARA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police and gendarmerie special forces have entered the Afrin region in Syria in "new phase" of operation against People's Protection Units (YPG), Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said Monday.

The deployment is a sign of preparations for a new struggle looming ahead, Bozdag said on a television interview, adding that Turkey's operation will move to urban areas from rural villages.

Bozdag said the special forces from police and gendarmerie are deployed in Afrin to avoid civilians casualty. They have experience on conducting anti-terror fight in residential areas without harming civilians.

A total of 2,059 militants had been neutralized by Turkish army since the beginning of the operation, Turkish military said on Monday.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched "Operation Olive Branch" to clear YPG militants from Afrin in northwestern Syria. Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).