Syria war: Centre of city of Afrin seized - Turkey

Turkish-backed forces have taken full control of the centre of the Syrian-Kurdish city of Afrin, according to Turkey's president.

"Units of the Free Syrian Army... took control of the centre of Afrin this morning," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The two-month-long Turkish operation has been aimed at ridding Afrin, close to Turkey's border, of a Kurdish militia it considers a terrorist group.

More than 150,000 civilians have fled the assault on Afrin, reports say.

Activists say 280 civilians have died, although this is denied by Ankara.

Troops are now reported to be combing the streets of central Afrin for fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

A Turkish armed forces Twitter page posted a video of troops displaying the nation's flag in Afrin's centre.

President Erdogan and the Turkish military said de-mining operations were under way in the city.

Their entry into the city was far quicker than expected, BBC Turkey correspondent Mark Lowen said. Many Kurdish fighters escaped through a narrow corridor, along with civilians.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said more than 200,000 civilians had left Afrin in less than three days.

Why has Turkey taken Afrin?

The Turkish assault on Afrin, named Operation Olive Branch, began on 20 January, with the aim of ridding the city and surrounding region of the YPG.

Turkey regards the YPG as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in south-eastern Turkey for three decades.

The YPG denies any direct organisational links to the PKK - an assertion backed by the US, which is allied with the YPG in the battle against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

US plans to help form a Kurdish border force set alarm bells ringing in Ankara, and prompted the launch of Operation Olive Branch.

President Erdogan vowed to "suffocate" what he called a "terror army."

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