Two months after launching an offensive on the northern Syrian region of Afrin, Turkey has claimed victory. Ankara's goal was to take control of the area from Kurdish militia - known as the YPG - which has controlled the area since Syrian troops pulled-out in 2012. Our correspondent Michal Bardavid has the details from Istanbul.

MICHAL BARDAVID ISTANBUL "In the early hours of Sunday Turkish troops and Syrian rebels entered the city of Afrin and claimed they had the city under control."

They had been preparing for this move over the last few days and it seems they did not face much resistance. The first announcement came from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, let's listen to his statement.

Turkish forces are now roaming the streets for mines and improvised explosives devices. Meanwhile - Kurdish officials from Afrin announced they would from direct confrontation to guerilla tactics. So the fighting in the area may not be over yet.

MICHAL BARDAVID ISTANBUL Once the mission in Afrin is completed, Turkey had vowed it would move the operation to Manbij and clear it of YPG militants as well.

The Syrian observatory for humans rights says more than 150,000 people fled Afrin in recent days and this was despite efforts by the YPG to prevent them from leaving. The UN has been providing some of the refugees who fled with aid. Now many are afraid to return home as it's not clear whether or not the fighting will end so easily. Meanwhile some who are there are stressing that conditions are not good either.

So for the civilians of Afrin - both for those who left, and those who stayed, times are not easy. Turkish President Erdogan in his speech today emphasized that once they clear the area, steps will be taken to rebuild the infrastructure so civilians can return as soon as possible. MB, CGTN, ISTANBUL.