The Turkish military has suffered the deadliest day in its current offensive against Kurdish militias inside Syria, with seven soldiers killed.

Five of the troops died when their tank was attacked near Afrin.

The “Olive Branch” operation was launched on 20 January to drive the Kurdish YPG militia out of Afrin region.

Thousands of Kurds protested outside the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Saturday against the offensive.

Turkey views the YPG (People’s Protection Units) as a terrorist group and an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in south-eastern Turkey for three decades.

In addition to those killed when the US-backed YPG attacked the tank, two other soldiers were killed earlier – one in the same area and one in another part of northern Syria. One soldier was also killed on the Turkish side of the border.

Turkey has now lost 14 soldiers in fierce clashes during the offensive.

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Turkey says it has killed some 900 Kurdish fighters, but this cannot be independently verified.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkish troops were taking high ground and would now head towards the town of Afrin itself, saying: “There is not much to go.”

In Strasbourg, Kurdish protesters carried banners reading “Erdogan assassin” and “defend Afrin”, and shouted slogans such as “silence kills” outside the Council of Europe offices.

One protester, Suleyman Akguc, told Agence France-Presse: “We want to sound the alarm because the Kurds in Afrin have fought against the Islamic State and are being massacred today. The silence of the European leaders is deadly,”

Thousands of people have been displaced by the Turkish-led offensive that also involves 10,000 Syrian rebels.

Separately, Human Rights Watch on Saturday accused Turkish border guards of firing on would-be asylum seekers trying to enter from Syria.

A government official denied the accusation, saying Turkey had an “open-door policy”.

Turkey has taken more Syrian refugees than any other nation.