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BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on the Syria conflict (all times local):

12:45 p.m.

A Syrian rebel group says it is in negotiations with the United Nations to arrange for a cease-fire and ensure the evacuation of wounded and ill civilians from the besieged eastern Ghouta region just outside the capital.

Wael Olwan, spokesman for the Faylaq al-Rahman group, said Sunday the "serious" talks are not aimed at evacuating able-bodied civilians from the region, something the Syrian opposition views as forcible displacement.

Syrian government forces launched a major offensive in eastern Ghouta on Feb. 18 and now control over 80 percent of the regions. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled in recent days.

Syria's state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV on Sunday broadcast footage of government forces rolling into Saqba, a town in eastern Ghouta controlled by Faylaq al-Rahman.

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11:45 a.m.

The Russian military says more than 25,000 people have fled Syria's besieged eastern Ghouta region in single day.

Maj. Gen. Vladimir Zolotukhin is quoted by Russian news agencies as saying they left Sunday through the town of Hamouria.

The departures add to tens of thousands who have left in the past few days as Russian-backed Syrian troops have squeezed the rebel bastion just outside Damascus. Some 1,400 people have been killed in the past month.

Zolotukhin works with the Russian center for reconciling Syria's warring parties. He said the center is distributing bedding and food to those fleeing, who are being forced into government-held regions.

Russia has been waging an air campaign in Syria on behalf of President Bashar Assad's forces since 2015.

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11 a.m.

A senior Syrian Kurdish official has denied Turkey's claim to have captured the northern Syrian town of Afrin, saying fighting is still underway.

Hadia Yousef told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Kurdish militia evacuated civilians from the town because of ongoing "massacres" by Turkish and allied forces. Tens of thousands have fled Afrin in recent days as Turkish forces and allied Syrian fighters have advanced.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey-backed Syrian forces have taken full control of the town. Turkey's military said it is combing the town for land mines, and tweeted a video showing Turkish soldiers in the town's center.

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10:15 a.m.

Turkey's president says allied Syrian forces have taken control of the town center of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month offensive against a Kurdish militia.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Syrian fighters, supported by Turkish armed forces, seized control of the town center early Sunday. He says many of the Kurdish fighters have fled.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Turkey-backed forces have taken control of half the town, with heavy fighting still underway.

Turkey views the Kurdish forces in the Afrin enclave along the border as terrorists because of their links to the Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

Turkish troops along with Syrian opposition fighters launched a cross-border offensive on Jan. 20. Thousands of civilians have fled in recent days amid heavy airstrikes.

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10 a.m.

A Turkish news agency and Syrian activists say Turkey-backed forces have reached the center of the Syrian town of Afrin, the target of a nearly two-month-old Turkish offensive against a Syrian Kurdish militia.

Turkey views the Kurdish forces in the Afrin enclave along the border as terrorists because of their links to the Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

Turkey's private Dogan news agency on Sunday reported that the Turkish-backed Syrian fighters "established control" in the town center. Footage showed armed men walking among derelict buildings amid sporadic gunfire.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Syrian fighters entered the town with Turkish forces amid intensive airstrikes. Thousands of residents have fled in recent days.

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