US forces are in the outskirts of the Syrian town of Manbij
On June 14, the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) announced in an official statement that military officials of the U.S. and Turkey reached agreement on a plan for the northern Syrian city of Manbij following a series of meetings in the German city of Stuttgart. The EUCOM added that the plan will be recommended to senior U.S. and Turkish officials for further discussions.
The US and Turkey announced on June 4 that they had endorsed a roadmap for Manbij. As a part of the roadmap, the Kurdish People’s Protections Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will be forced to withdraw from the city and their members will be removed from local governing organizations there.
The road map has a certain timeframe, that’s yet to be revealed by the U.S. or Turkey. Some reports suggested that the roadmap consists of three stages which will be fully implemented within 60days once the leaderships of the U.S. and Turkey approve it.
The YPG is complying with the U.S.-Turkish roadmap, despite that the plan represents a huge blow to its efforts in northern Syria. On June 5, the YPG even announced withdrawal of its “military advisers” from Manbij.
The U.S. and Turkey will likely reveal the timeframe of Manbij agreement in the upcoming days, especially that the agreement is now one step away from being finalized.
