Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies have raised their flags in the town centre of Afrin and declared full control after a two-month campaign to drive out Kurdish forces.

Images showed Syrian fighters tearing down a statue of Kawa, a mythological Kurdish hero who defeated a brutal ruler and lit fires to spread the news, ushering in spring.

The statue symbolised the Kurdish new year celebrations that are being held this week

A WhatsApp group run by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces called the act a “blatant violation of Kurdish people’s culture and history”.

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army soldiers celebrate after reportedly taking complete control of the city of Afrin, northern Syria (EPA/AREF TAMMAWI)

Turkey’s President said allied Syrian forces had taken “total” control of the town, which was previously controlled by the Kurdish militia known as the People’s Defence Units or YPG.

“Many of the terrorists had turned tail and run away already,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a rally commemorating the First World War Gallipoli campaign.

“Our special forces and members of the Free Syrian Army are cleaning the remains and the traps they left behind. In the centre of Afrin, symbols of trust and stability are waving instead of rags of terrorists.”

A spokesman for the rebel fighters told Reuters they entered Afrin before dawn, meeting no resistance. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said pockets of YPG fighters were defying orders to withdraw, but Turkish forces were in control.

Turkey considers the Kurdish forces along its border to be terrorists linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which has waged an insurgency within Turkey for more than three decades.

Soldiers prepare to destroy a statue of Kawa, a mythological figure in Kurdish culture (Hasan Kormozitao/DHA-Depo Photos via AP) (Hasan Kørmøzitaø/DHA-Depo Photos via AP)

The fight for Afrin, a once stable pocket of northwest Syria, has opened a new front in Syria’s multi-sided civil war and highlighted the ever greater role of foreign powers in the seven-year-old conflict.

At least 46 Turkish soldiers were killed since Operation Olive Branch began on 20 January.

Soldiers destroy the statue (Hasan Kormozitao/DHA-Depo Photos via AP) (Hasan Kørmøzitaø/DHA-Depo Photos via AP)

Nearly 200,000 people have fled the Afrin region in recent days amid heavy air strikes, entering Syrian government-held territory nearby, the Syrian Observatory said.

Turkey pressed on with its campaign despite a UN Security Council call for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria. Ankara said the demand did not apply to Afrin, but its operation has faced criticism in the West.

A Kurdish official, Hadia Yousef, told the Associated Press the YPG fighters have not fled the town, but have evacuated the remaining civilians because of “massacres”. She said clashes in the town were still underway.

Turkey’s armed forces said in a statement that troops were combing the streets for mines and improvised explosive devices.

The army posted a video on social media showing a soldier holding a Turkish flag and a man waving the Syrian opposition flag on the balcony of the district parliament building (EPA/DHA/Dogan News Agency) (EPA/DHA / DOGAN NEWS AGENCY)

The army posted a video on social media showing a soldier holding a Turkish flag and a man waving the Syrian opposition flag on the balcony of the district parliament building with a tank stationed on the street.

The soldier called the capture a “gift” to the Turkish nation and to fallen soldiers on the anniversary of a famous First World War victory.

Other footage showed Syrian fighters shooting in the air in celebration while shouting “Allahu akbar”, Arabic for “God is [the] greatest.”

Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Smoke billows following a Turkish airstrike on a village in the Afrin district, on 28 January, 2018. Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition fighters with ground troops and air strikes AFP Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Smoke billows from surrounding villages during the Turkish military operation against the Kurdish enclave on 28 January, 2018 AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Twenty-year old Kifah al-Moussa, a Syrian Arab woman living among the Kurds of Afrin province, was working on a chicken farm in the village of Maryameen when a Turkish aircraft bombed the building at midday on 21 January, wounding her in the chest. When she recovered consciousness, she found eight people from one family lying dead around her Yara Ismail Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Mohamed Hussein, a 58-year-old Kurdish farmer, lies in the Afrin hospital, wounded in the head and eye after his home was bombed by Turkish aircraft on the second night of the attack Yara Ismail Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Syrian Kurds sit on benches overlooking a street in Afrin, on 28 January, 2018. Above is a memorial to ‘martyrs’ who died in the fight against Isis AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Smoke is seen rising on the Syrian side of the border, at Hassa, near Hatay, southern Turkey as Turkish jet fighters hit People's Protection Unit (YPG) positions, on 28 January, 2018 AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures A Turkish made T-155 Firtina (Storm) howitzer is dispatched to the border at Hassa near Hatay, southern Turkey, on 28 January, 2018 AFP/Getty Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures A Turkish soldier waves a flag on Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, on 28 January, 2018 Reuters Turkish attack on Afrin, northern Syria – in pictures Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army fighters are seen in Barsaya mountain, northeast of Afrin, on 28 January, 2018 Reuters

Turkey has threatened to extend its offensive to another Kurdish-controlled region further east, where US forces are stationed alongside the YPG, Washington’s ally against Isis in Syria.

The YPG seized large areas across northern and eastern Syria from the extremist group with the help of coalition air strikes.

Mr Erdogan has repeatedly said that Nato ally Turkey will not allow a “terror corridor” along its border.

Turkey also fears the establishment of a Kurdish self-ruled zone in Syria that could inspire its own Kurdish minority to press for greater autonomy. The Kurds are the largest stateless ethnic group in the Middle East, with some 30 million living in an area split between Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

It comes after the Kurdish militia and the Syrian Observatory said Turkish jets struck Afrin’s main hospital on Friday, killing more than a dozen people.

The Turkish military denied the allegations.