Turkish president announces takeover of Afrin city center

Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels have taken the Afrin city center under control following two-month fighting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gestures as he delivers a speech during a rally in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Erdogan expressed hope the Syrian town of Afrin will be encircled by its forces by Wednesday evening, after launching its assault on the Afrin enclave on Jan. 20 to drive out Syrian Kurdish forces. [File Photo: AP/Kayhan Ozer]

The Free Syrian Army, backed by the Turkish army, took over completely the center of Afrin city, the central town in the Afrin district, as of 08:30 a.m. on Sunday, Erdogan said at a ceremony marking the 103rd anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in Canakkale of northwestern Turkey.

"At this moment Turkish flag is flapping there, the Free Syrian Army flag is flapping," he said.

Turkey started the campaign against the Afrin district in northwestern Syria on Jan. 20, with a view to driving out Kurdish militants, who are seen by Ankara as terrorists.

Erdogan pledged to take all the steps needed to make the entire region livable, improving both its infrastructure and superstructure.

"We will take all necessary steps to bring the people of the region back to their homes as soon as possible," he added.

Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to move on eastward to take over Manbij, a town which is also held by Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) but has a U.S. military presence.

Turkey and the United States, with a relationship strained over an array of issues including Washington's continued arming of the YPG, have agreed to resolve their differences over Manbij through talks.

The presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran are scheduled to meet on April 4 in Istanbul, with war-torn Syria atop their agenda. 

In the view of Abdullah Agar, a security analyst, the Afrin operation has progressed more rapidly than expected. "Currently, the work to secure the stabilization is continuing," he said.