Turkish-backed Syrian forces have reinforced the area around the town of Manbij, an opposition spokesman said on Monday, as they prepare for a withdrawal of U.S. troops following Washington's surprise decision to pull out of Syria.
The heightened military activity comes as Ankara and Washington have agreed to coordinate on the U.S. withdrawal. U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt decision has upended American policy in the region and set Turkey up for a broad push against YPG terrorists across the border.
"Yesterday units from the Syrian National Army headed towards the Manbij front and took preliminary positions (in preparation) for the battle," said Major Youssef Hamoud, the spokesman for the National Army, the main Turkey-backed opposition force in the area. The group is aimed at unifying disparate factions in northwest Syria.
Manbij has been a major flashpoint between Ankara and Washington. In June, the NATO allies reached an agreement that would see the YPG ousted from the town, but Turkey has said the deal has been delayed.
President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 14 that Turkish forces would enter the town if the United States does not remove the terrorists.
U.S. forces still remain in Manbij, and the Turkey-backed fighters will not advance until they withdraw, Hamoud told Reuters.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The YPG is its Syrian extension.
Erdoğan has said Ankara will postpone a planned military operation against the YPG east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria following the U.S. decision to pull out.
Erdoğan and Trump agreed in a phone call on Sunday to coordinate to prevent an authority vacuum from developing as the United States withdraws from Syria, the Turkish presidency said.
On Sunday, a witness saw hundreds of vehicles head to the southern border province of Kilis after leaving Hatay, another border province. The convoy included tanks, howitzers, machine guns and buses carrying commandos, the witness said.
