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Reuters
ANKARA
A source at Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Monday dismissed a militia report that Kurdish YPG fighters had completely left Syria's Manbij region as exaggerated, saying their withdrawal was still under way.
Turkey and the United States reached a deal last month over Manbij, a town in northern Syria, after months of disagreement. Under the deal, the YPG would withdraw from Manbij and Turkish and US forces would maintain security and stability around the town.
The Manbij Military Council militia controlling Manbij said the last YPG fighters had left on Sunday after completing their mission of military training of local forces. The Manbij Military Council has repeatedly said there are no YPG fighters there, only some YPG military advisers.
The Manbij Military Council is allied to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed militia spearheaded by the YPG. However, the Turkish Foreign Ministry source rejected the council's report.
"We find reports that the PYD/YPG have completely withdrawn from Manbij to be exaggerated. The process is still continuing,"the source said, referring to the Kurdish YPG militia, and its political arm, the PYD.
"Withdrawal from the checkpoints on the patrol route is ongoing. Joint patrol preparations are continuing. Therefore, at this stage, reports that PYD/YPG have completely withdrawn from Manbij do not reflect the truth."
