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Troops of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) entered the town of Manbij in the northern part of Aleppo province and raised Syrian flag over the town on December 28, the country’s state-run news agency SANA reported citing a statement by the Syrian General Staff.
On the same day, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) released a statement inviting the SAA to take control of northern Syria areas from which YPG units had allegedly withdrawn. The reason of the decision is a threat of Turkish military operation in the area, which would be aimed against Kurdish armed groups.
Earlier, Russian and Syrian troops deployed in the village of Arima west of Manbij.
All these areas had been controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which mostly consist of YPG units. The SDF’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, is mostly controlled by the YPG’s political wing, the YPD, and other YPG-linked entities.
It should be noted that the fact that the SAA had entered Manbij does not mean that members of the SDF’s Manbij Military Council will be expelled from the area. According to reports, the sides had agreed to establish a join control of the area in order to prevent a Turkish invasion.
Proo-government sources say that the Manbij agreement is only a first step of a wider deal between the SAA and the YPG (SDF, PYD, SDC) on the situation in northern Syria, which could be reached soon.
