Syria takes over key Kurdish-held town — after Kurds asked it to
/ CBS/AP
Syria's military announced Friday it has taken control of the flash-point Kurdish-held town of Manbij, against which Turkey has threatened an offensive. The declaration came shortly after the main Syrian Kurdish militia invited the government to seize control of Manbij to prevent a Turkish attack.
The development signals the two sides have agreed to the new arrangement.
The Syrian military said it raised the state flag in Manbij and was responding to calls from residents of Manbij. it promised safety for all living there.
The announcement was quickly welcomed by the Kremlin, whose spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called it a "positive step" that could help stabilize the situation.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Turkey.
U.S. troops have been patrolling the town and the tense front line between Manbij and adjacent towns, where Turkey-backed fighters were based.
But President Trump announced earlier this month he was pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. A timetable for the withdrawal hasn't been made public.
Turkey views the Kurdish militia as a terrorist group. Turkey and its allied fighters have been massing troops around Manbij in recent days.
The surprise decision to remove U.S. troops rattled allies and the U.S. Syrian Kurdish partners, who scrambled to find new allies to protect their Kurdish-administered areas in north Syria.
The Syrian government has said it welcomes the Kurdish group returning under its authority. But government officials have stated they wouldn't consider an autonomous area, a main demand of the Kurds.
Syria's entry into Manbij comes a day before Moscow is to host top Turkish officials to discuss the crisis in Syria in light of the announced U.S. withdrawal. Russia is a strong ally of Syrian President Basahar Assad.
Mr. Trump said the main reason U.S. troops were in Syria was to battle the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and that ISIS had been defeated — a widely disputed contention.
Critics decried his decision to remove the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, saying that would leave the Kurds vulnerable to a Turkish attack and that pulling out the American troops would show the U.S. isn't a reliable partner. They also asserted Syria would then be much more vulnerable to Russian and Iranian influence, and leave Assad in power.
The Syrian Kurdish militia tweeted earlier today, "We invite the Syrian government forces to assert control over the areas our forces have withdrawn from, in particularly Manbij, and to protect these areas against a Turkish invasion."
A statement on the group's website said its forces would instead focus on the fight against ISIS to the east of the Euphrates River.
First published on December 28, 2018
© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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