ANKARA – Turkish-backed rebels have seized the centre of Afrin city innorthern Syria, Ankara said Sunday, as they made rapid gains in theircampaign against Kurdish forces.

“Units of the Free Syrian Army, which are backed by Turkish armed forces,took control of the centre of Afrin this morning at 8:30am (0530 GMT),”said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vowed to oust Kurdish militiafrom areas along the Turkish border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of thecountry’s war, said Turkish-led forces had made a lighting advance insideAfrin, taking control of half the Kurdish-majority city.

A civilian inside Afrin said that rebels had deployed in the city centreand that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia had withdrawn.

Civilians hiding in basements could hear fighting outside and peopleshouting “God is greatest”, one resident told AFP.

An AFP correspondent in the city said he heard explosions on Sunday morning.

The capture of Afrin would be a major victory in Ankara’s campaign againstthe YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist group.

Ankara launched Operation “Olive Branch” in Afrin two months ago, sayingthe area near the Turkish border needed to be secured and the YPG pushedout.

The advance has made steady gains and earlier this week Turkish-led forceslargely surrounded Afrin city, leaving a single escape route opensouthwards to territory still held by the YPG or controlled by the Syrianregime.

At least 200,000 civilians had fled the city over the last week, theObservatory said.

Turkish jets and artillery have been battering Afrin for weeks and groundclashes intensified in recent days, raising fears for thousands ofcivilians trapped in street-to-street fighting.

At least 27 civilians were killed in Turkish bombing on Friday andSaturday, according to the Observatory, including 16 when a raid reportedlystruck the main hospital in Afrin city on Friday. – APP /AFP