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Turkish military and allied Syrian forces have marched into the centre of the northern Syrian town of Afrin, raising their flags and shooting in the air in celebration nearly two months after launching their offensive on the Kurdish enclave.
Key points:
- Kurdish militia announced "new phase" of guerrilla tactics.
- Nearly 200,000 people have fled the Afrin region.
- It is not clear what Turkey would do after the capture of Afrin.
The advancing troops faced little resistance from the Kurdish militia, who called the assault on Afrin an "occupation" and vowed a "new phase" of guerrilla tactics against Turkish troops and its allied Syrian fighters.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the capture of Afrin, previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People's Defence Units, or YPG.
"Many of the terrorists had turned tail and run away already," Mr Erdogan said in a speech in western Turkey.
"In Afrin's centre, it is no longer the rags of the terror organisation that are waving but rather the symbols of peace and security."
It is not clear what Turkey would do after the capture of Afrin.
Turkey views the Kurdish forces in the Afrin enclave along the border as terrorists linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency within Turkey's borders.
Nearly 200,000 flee Afrin region
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly 200,000 people have fled the Afrin region in recent days amid heavy airstrikes, entering Syrian government-held territory nearby.
Mr Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey will not allow a "terror corridor" along its border and has vowed to push east after Afrin.
Mr Erdogan threatened to move to Manbij, a Kurdish-run town to the east where US troops have also maintained a presence after it was cleared of Islamic State militants in 2016.
Washington's support to the YPG, including arming the militia and relying on it to battle Islamic State militants in eastern Syria, has strained relations between Turkey and the US and a push east could further inflame tension.
In an attempt to prevent such a move east, Washington began discussions to address Turkey's concerns about the Kurdish militia's presence in Manbij.
Turkey wants the YPG to pull out from the town.
Meanwhile, US and Kurdish officials said Turkey's fight with the YPG has distracted from fighting IS.
A Kurdish official on Sunday said the fight against IS in north-eastern Deir el-Zour province, where remnants of IS have remained, had been put on hold as the battle for Afrin unfolded.
Reuters/AP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, terrorism, syrian-arab-republic, turkey
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