After the United States decided to withdraw troops from Syria, Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) appealed to Damascus to establish control over the areas they had previously occupied, including Manbij, and to protect them from the Turkish invasion. In late December, Syrian troops entered Manbij. In early January, Syrian Defence Ministry reported that about 400 YPG fighters left Manbij and were heading toward the eastern bank of Euphrates to focus on fighting the Daesh* terrorist group.
"Today, patrols have begun to patrol the security zone in the area of the settlement of Manbij and its suburbs. The task is to ensure security in the area of responsibility, to control the position and movement of armed formations," Mamatov said.
The first patrol route of military police officers passed along the rear border of the security zone near Manbij, he explained.
The military patrolled several tens of kilometres in the northern part of the province, and the route will change regularly in the future, Mamatov added.
According to the spokesman, the military police receive from local residents reports about arms dumps and unexploded shells that have remained here since the occupation of the territories by militants.
*Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State/IS), a terrorist group banned in Russia and a wide number of other countries.
