Erdogan says Turkey can enter Syrian town of Afrin 'at any moment'

ANKARA: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkish forces and allied rebels could enter the centre of the Kurdish-held Syrian town of Afrin "at any moment", a day after capturing another strategic town.

The comments reflected Turkey's increasing confidence of pressing its operation against Kurdish militia in the Afrin region of northern Syria to a successful conclusion after seven weeks of fighting.

"Now our objective is Afrin... As of now, we have Afrin encircled. We can enter Afrin at any moment, God willing," Erdogan told his ruling AKP party in Ankara, a day after Turkish forces took control of the town of Jandairis west of Afrin.

"The operations in Afrin will continue until this swamp of terror is dried," he warned.

Ankara on January 20 launched operation "Olive Branch" in the Afrin region of northern Syria against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, who control the area but Turkey regards as a terror group.

Despite encountering fierce resistance -- which has caused the death of 42 Turkish troops -- Turkey's military and its Syrian allies appear to have gained new momentum in the last weeks.

The capture of Jandairis -- one of the key centres in the region other than Afrin itself -- was seen by analysts as giving Ankara a clear path towards its main target.

Turkish state media said Turkey's advance continued on Friday, with the forces now on the edge of the Afrin municipal district.

It said they had also taken control of the Afrin Dam -- also known as the 17 April Dam -- which stores water and provides some hydroelectric power.

Graphics published by state media show that the Turkish forces are seeking to encircle Afrin in a two-pronged pincer movement from the northeast and southwest, though they have yet to fully surround it.