Military Council of Manbij Wants City to Return Under Damascus Control – Reports

In June, Turkey and the United States struck a deal regarding Manbij, agreeing that the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) would withdraw from the city and yield control over Manbij to the Turkish and US troops.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – City authorities and the military council of Syria’s Manbij would like to transfer it under the control of the Syrian government army after Kurdish militants’ withdrawal, Al Watan newspaper reported Saturday citing its sources.

"The military council and the majority of residents consider Turkey an occupying country that wants to oust the Kurds from their territory, as it was done in Afrin, so they want the return of the Syrian authorities in the city," the source said.

The talks between the council and representatives of the Syrian state are underway, and Moscow is aware about them, the source added.

"[Russia] will enter into negotiations with Turkey to satisfy the wishes of the inhabitants of Manbij, who are rejecting the Turkish presence," the source stressed.

Earlier in July, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that he would see no problem in the implementation of US-Turkish joint roadmap on the town. Under the plan, YPG is set to leave the town. Turkey, which believes the group to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara, has been concerned with potential threats to its national security from the group stationed in Syria close to Turkish borders.

However, the Syrian authorities are against the presence of US or Turkish forces in Syria. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has denounced their actions as breaching the UN resolution.