ISTANBUL, March 18 (Xinhua) — Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels have taken the Afrin city center under control following two-month fighting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), backed by the Turkish army, took over the city center completely as of 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Erdogan said at a ceremony marking the 103rd anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in Canakkale of northwestern Turkey.

"At this moment Turkish flag is flapping there; the Free Syrian Army flag is flapping," he said.

Turkey started a military campaign in Afrin district in northwestern Syria on Jan. 20 to drive out Kurdish militants there, who are seen by Ankara as terrorists.