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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Syrian troops mass at edge of Kurdish town threatened by Turkey | Syrian troops mass at edge of Kurdish town threatened by Turkey |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Syria’s military has arrived at the frontline of the flashpoint town of Manbij, as Kurdish fighters appealed to Damascus for help in the face of the imminent threat of attack by Turkey. | Syria’s military has arrived at the frontline of the flashpoint town of Manbij, as Kurdish fighters appealed to Damascus for help in the face of the imminent threat of attack by Turkey. |
| It was not immediately clear whether US personnel, who are based in the town and have been patrolling Manbij and the tense frontline between it and adjacent towns where Turkey-backed fighters are based, were still present. The US-led coalition against Isis did not respond to a request for comment. | |
| “We invite the Syrian government forces … to assert control over the areas our forces have withdrawn from, in particularly Manbij, and to protect these areas against a Turkish invasion,” a statement from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) said. | “We invite the Syrian government forces … to assert control over the areas our forces have withdrawn from, in particularly Manbij, and to protect these areas against a Turkish invasion,” a statement from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) said. |
| The Syrian army had already mobilised before the public Kurdish invitation. It said on Friday morning that units had entered the town on the western bank of the Euphrates. | The Syrian army had already mobilised before the public Kurdish invitation. It said on Friday morning that units had entered the town on the western bank of the Euphrates. |
| In response, Syrian rebel groups backed by Turkey said they had also begun moving towards Manbij in “full readiness” for a military operation. | |
| The volte-face by the Kurds, six years after they broke from Damascus, comes after Donald Trump’s surprise decision earlier this month to withdraw the 2,000 US troops stationed in Kurdish-held Syria, known locally as Rojava, which acted as a buffer between Turkey and Syria’s Kurds. | The volte-face by the Kurds, six years after they broke from Damascus, comes after Donald Trump’s surprise decision earlier this month to withdraw the 2,000 US troops stationed in Kurdish-held Syria, known locally as Rojava, which acted as a buffer between Turkey and Syria’s Kurds. |
| Kurdish forces have been the US’s most important ground partner in the fight against Islamic State, but Ankara views them as a terrorist threat and extension of the Kurdish separatist movement within its own borders. | Kurdish forces have been the US’s most important ground partner in the fight against Islamic State, but Ankara views them as a terrorist threat and extension of the Kurdish separatist movement within its own borders. |
| A monitor and several local sources said troops had massed on the edges of the town and that the Syrian government flag had been raised above official buildings for the first time in years. | A monitor and several local sources said troops had massed on the edges of the town and that the Syrian government flag had been raised above official buildings for the first time in years. |
| The Syrian army said in a statement it would guarantee “full security for all Syrian citizens and others present in the area”. | The Syrian army said in a statement it would guarantee “full security for all Syrian citizens and others present in the area”. |
| Russia, the main ally of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, said the development was positive. Moscow seeks to restore Assad’s control over the whole country. | Russia, the main ally of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, said the development was positive. Moscow seeks to restore Assad’s control over the whole country. |
| The YPG seized Manbij from Isis in 2016, and the town on Syria’s northern border has since become the frontline between the Kurds and Turkey in Syria’s complex civil war. | |
| The US agreed to facilitate the removal of YPG fighters from the town as part of efforts to appease Turkey, its Nato ally, earlier this year, but perceived stalling on the matter infuriated the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In recent months Erdoğan has said repeatedly that his forces would deal with threats to Turkey’s safety themselves. | The US agreed to facilitate the removal of YPG fighters from the town as part of efforts to appease Turkey, its Nato ally, earlier this year, but perceived stalling on the matter infuriated the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In recent months Erdoğan has said repeatedly that his forces would deal with threats to Turkey’s safety themselves. |
| The YPG says its fighters recently withdrew from Manbij to fight the remnants of Isis in the east of the country. | The YPG says its fighters recently withdrew from Manbij to fight the remnants of Isis in the east of the country. |
| Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Erdogan dismissed the Syrian army’s entry into the Manbij area as a “psychological move”. | |
| Turkish officials are due to arrive in Moscow on Saturday for talks over Syria’s future after the US withdrawal. | Turkish officials are due to arrive in Moscow on Saturday for talks over Syria’s future after the US withdrawal. |
| Syria | Syria |
| Turkey | Turkey |
| Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa |
| Kurds | Kurds |
| news | news |
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