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Kurdish forces say withdraw from north Syrian town amid Turkish pressure

Xinhua, August 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kurdish forces announced Thursday their withdrawal form Manbej, a north Syrian town they captured from the Islamic State (IS) group two weeks ago.

The People's Protection Units (YPG) said the allied forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) left the town after completing the mission of liberating it from the IS.

The YPG said it handed the military command of the town over to the Manbej Military Council, a coalition formed by local fighters from seven groups affiliated with the SDF.

The Military Command of Manbej will assume the power in that town along with the Arab members of the SDF, it said in a statement.

Both the SDF and the YPG are supported by the United States.

The Kurdish forces' withdrawal from Manbej, an Arab town near Turkey, came apparently against the backdrop of the recent American-Turkish reproachment, as Ankara has long expressed its deep opposition to the advance of Kurdish forces near its borders.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was in Ankara on Wednesday on a visit seen as part of Washington's efforts to ease the tension following a July 15 coup attempt.

At a joint press conference, Biden reportedly said that the YPG would lose U.S. support if it does not withdraw to the eastern side of Euphrates River.

On Wednesday, Turkish tanks, special forces and Anrkara-backed Syrian rebels crossed into the Syrian side of the borders, capturing the city of Jarablus, the last IS stronghold near Turkey.

The move was seen aimed primarily at capturing the city before the Kurdish forces could do so, as Jarablus was the Kurds' next declared goal after capturing Manbej.

The Turkish operation was covered by the U.S-led airstrikes, which helped in enabling the Syrian rebels to capture Jarablus.

On Thursday, Ankara sent in more tanks to support the Syrian rebels after capturing Jarablus.

Now, the Turkey-backed rebels are expected to move toward Manbej to take over the reign of power there.

The Syrian government has vehemently condemned the Turkish military intervention in Jarablus, saying Ankara was replacing one terror group with another, referring to the Turkey-backed rebels.

Observers believe that the Kurds may pay the price of stronger alliances between the U.S. and Turkey, as Washington finally gave Turkey the green light to secure northern Syrian areas against the advance of the Kurds, who have made sweeping progress under U.S. support recently.

Other analysts expressed worries that Ankara could be playing its long-declared goal of establishing a safe-zone in northern Syria to protect against the ambitious Kurdish fighters. Endit