Syria slams Turkish 'occupation' of Afrin, as US laments civilian exodus

Syria on Monday slammed Turkey's military takeover of Afrin, demanding it pull its forces from the "occupied" territory.

Ankara and allied Syrian rebel groups captured the city from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on Sunday, after a two-month offensive on the broader Afrin region.

Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters were filmed in Afrin city centre raising the Turkish and Syrian revolutionary flags above local government buildings, after the People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters fled.

The FSA force surrounded Afrin from three sides with more than 200,000 civilians reportedly fleeing the city.

The Syrian foreign ministry in Damascus sent two letters on Monday to the United Nations, protesting the capture as "illegitimate".

"Syria condemns the Turkish occupation of Afrin and the crimes it is committing there, and demands the invading forces immediately withdraw from the Syrian territory they occupied," the ministry said in its letters, according to state news agency SANA.

"Turkey's behaviour and attacks do not only threaten citizens and the unity of Syria's land and people - they also prolong the war on Syria," it added.

Damascus has repeatedly criticised Turkey for its military operations on Syrian soil, accusing it of supporting "terrorist" groups, despite the regime's own scorched earth campaigns against opposition areas.

Pro-regime militiamen even joined the fight to defend Afrin, dispatched from adjacent regime-held territory in Aleppo province.

The US also warned its NATO ally Turkey on Monday it is "deeply concerned" by reports that a Turkish-led assault on the Syrian city of Afrin triggered a civilian exodus.

"We are also concerned over reports of looting inside the city of Afrin," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. 

"We have repeatedly expressed our serious concern to Turkish officials regarding the situation in Afrin," she said.

Images have shown fighters loading trucks with household items and driving off with cars and tractors after much of Afrin's civilian population fled the city.

The looting began on Sunday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, after the Turkish and allied Syrian forces marched into the town centre and raised their flags there.