Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made a hand gesture associated with a far-right street-fighting group at a rally, left-wing BirGün newspaper said.

He made the gesture, which is meant to look like a wolf and is associated with the far right Idealist Hearths movement, who are also known as the Grey Wolves, while reciting one of his favourite slogans: “One nation, one flag, one state, one homeland.”

The Grey Wolves have traditionally been associated with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a right-wing political party which is expected to contest the next election as part of an alliance with Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).

After the gesture, Erdoğan made the Rabia gesture, a four-fingered salute with thumb bent signifying Muslim Brotherhood defiance of the Sisi regime in Egypt.

When the crowds began shouting for Erdoğan to enlist them for the Afrin operation, he conjured up an image of a mass campaign.

“When the time comes to order the campaign, first I, and then we all will go,” he said. “Because we believe in martyrdom.”