Turkey's president has said Turkey will oust Kurdish militants from Afrin, northern Syria, as the military shelled the area from across the border.

Speaking Saturday in the eastern province of Elazig, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened the People's Protection Units, or YPG, saying Turkey will intervene if the "terrorists in Afrin do not surrender."

Turkey considers the YPG a terror group and an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.

The Turkish military entered rebel-held Idlib in October to monitor "de-escalation zones" but has appeared to focus more on bordering Afrin.

Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey will not allow Kurdish militants to form a "terror corridor" in northern Syria.

Turkish media reported Saturday that the military shelled YPG positions in Afrin from within the Turkish border multiple times.