Reports of PYD/YPG withdrawal from Manbij dismissed

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official on Monday dismissed a news report claiming complete withdrawal of PYD/YPG terrorist organization from Syria’s northeastern Manbij city.

“We find it exaggerated the news claiming PYD/YPG has fully withdrawn from Manbij,” said the official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The official said the process is ongoing, referring to patrols conducted in the region by Turkish and the U.S. troops separately, which started on June 18.

“Withdrawal from the control zones on the patrol route is ongoing,” the Foreign Ministry official said, adding that the preparations for joint patrol continued.

“So, the news saying that the PYD/YPG has fully withdrawn from the region doesn’t reflect the truth,” the official added.

The last terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s Syrian affiliate, the PYD/YPG, left the northern town of Manbij had said earlier on Sunday, the terror group occupying the town said, fulfilling a longstanding Turkish demand that the YPG withdraw.

Turkey objects to the presence of PKK/YPG in Syria near its border.

A deal was reached between Ankara and Washington in early June, which focused on the withdrawal of the YPG terror group from the city in order to stabilize the region.

The PYD/YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK terror group, which has waged a campaign against Turkey for over a decade resulting in the death of 40,000 people, including women and children.

The U.S. has supported the PKK/PYD along with several other terrorist groups under the umbrella of the SDF, causing tension with Ankara.