Syria regime says Kurdish fighters withdraw from Manbij

Wednesday, 2 January, 2019 , 17:10

Damascus, Jan 2, 2019 (AFP) — The Syrian army said Wednesday "nearly 400 Kurdish fighters" had withdrawn from Manbij near the border with Turkey, days after the Kurds appealed to Damascus for support against a threatened Turkish offensive.

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) previously said they had pulled out of the area, which they seized from the Islamic State group in 2016.

Last week they invited regime forces to deploy to the key city following a shock announcement that American forces would leave Syria.