US and Turkish troops to patrol Syria's Manbij after Kurds withdraw

The Kurdish People's Protection Units announced this week that it would withdraw from Manbij as key brokers Ankara and Washington agreed on a roadmap for the strategic town.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

09 June, 2018

Turkish and US troops will patrol the key northern Syrian town of Manbij. [Getty]

Turkish and US troops will patrol the key northern Syrian town of Manbij as part of a deal reached this week for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish militia forces.

Speaking in Brussels after a NATO summit late on Friday, Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said he met his American counterpart James Mattis.

"We had a very detailed, constructive and positive meeting on the Manbij roadmap," Canikli said.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) announced on Tuesday that it would withdraw from Manbij, as key brokers Ankara and Washington agreed on a roadmap for the future of the strategic town.

The US-backed force has been instrumental in fighting the Islamic State group and pushing them out of northern Syria, including in Manbij.

Turkey has repeatedly called on the US to stop backing the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers terrorists and an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.