Syrian Army Amasses Outside Kurdish-Held Manbij, As Turkish Force Looms Over Border

Syria's army is grouping at the outskirts of Manbij, a hotly contested town near the Turkish border, in a move that is apparently coordinated with the pending withdrawal of Kurdish militants who have long held the city. After a Syrian army announcement declaring government troops had entered Manbij, Turkey-backed Syrian rebels stationed in nearby territory said they had begun moving together with Turkish forces toward the town in readiness for “the start of military operations to liberate” it. Even as regional forces race to position themselves for the imminent withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, U.S. military officials caution nothing on the ground has changed yet. Erdogan has for years backed rebels who once hoped to topple Bashar al-Assad, but the Syrian president’s survival has been assured by support from Tehran and Moscow even though the north and east - including Syrian oilfields - remain beyond Assad’s control for now. U.S. military support for the Kurdish fighters has infuriated Turkey, a fellow member of the NATO alliance, which sees the YPG as an extension of the PKK movement that has been waging an insurgency inside Turkey for decades. The military statement said troops had raised the national flag in Manbij on Friday and would guarantee security “for all Syrian citizens and others present.”

A resident inside the town said nothing had changed and he had not seen any such flags. The YPG, the main Kurdish militia in Syria, asked government forces to deploy in Manbij, an area it withdrew from earlier this year to fight Islamic State jihadists in eastern Syria.
The Kurdish YPG calls on Syrian government troops to protect Manbij against what it calls a "Turkish invasion".