ANKARA- Turkish forces will not remain in Syria's Afrin and will leave the region to its "real owners", Ankara's main spokesman said on Monday, after Turkey's military and its Syrian rebel allies stormed the town over the weekend.

Bekir Bozdag, a deputy prime minister, also told reporters that Turkey had significantly reduced threats to its borders after capturing the town of Afrin. He said Turkey had collected "most" of the weapons given to Kurdish fighters by the United States, after the YPG left weapons behind as they fled the town.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by David Dolan) ((tuvan.gumrukcu@tr.com; +903122927021; Reuters Messaging: tuvan.gumrukcu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))