Rebels seize Syrian city from US-backed Kurdish group after US-Turkey deal: Reuters

Reuters

United States and Turkey reached an agreement to ensure the safe withdrawal of U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) from the northern city of Manbij after an advance by Turkey-backed rebels, a Syrian opposition source said on Dec. 9.

The Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups had earlier taken control of Manbij from the SDF, a Turkish security source said, a day after rebels in the southern capital of Damascus declared Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking separately in Ankara, said he welcomed the clearing out of "terrorists" from Manbij, which the SDF had been holding in recent days amid fighting with the Syrian National Army (SNA) and other Turkey-backed groups.

The Kurdish fighters "have withdrawn from the city and still need to withdraw from the other areas" east of Manbij, said the Syrian opposition source familiar with the matter.

The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants. Turkey says it is spearheaded by a terrorist group closely tied to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.

A video, verified by Reuters, showed opposition forces being welcomed by some people in Manbij, which is some 30 km (19 miles) south of the Turkish border and west of the Euphrates river.

The SDF could cross east of the river, nearer a Kurdish stronghold, analysts say. Some of its fighters also withdrew from Tel Refaat and parts of Aleppo to the west, in the early days of a lightning rebel offensive that swept south across the country.

The sporadic clashes in Syria's north continued even as the world was caught surprised by the opposition's swift successes in initially seizing Aleppo and, on Sunday, Damascus.

The offensive took less than two weeks, after a 13-year war, and was spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group that Ankara and the West deem terrorists.

Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency reported that Manbij was being searched for possible landmines left behind.

Abdurrahman Mustafa, head of the Turkey-backed opposition's provisional government, congratulated the troops that took Manbij and said: "We support them to complete the liberation of every inch of our land and achieve the aspirations of our people..."

The United States said it will maintain its presence in eastern Syria, where the SDF is concentrated, and will take necessary steps to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State. Some 900 U.S. troops are in eastern Syria alongside the SDF.

Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said U.S. strikes in Syria in recent days were focused on Islamic State cells to hinder them from taking advantage of fallout from the rebellion.