Syrian troops deployed in support of Kurdish forces around the strategic northern city of Manbij on Friday, in a shift of alliances hastened by last week’s announcement of a US military withdrawal. The Syrian army announced that it had raised the flag in Manbij, a strategic city close to the Turkish border where Kurdish forces have been deployed since 2016 and where US-led coalition forces are also stationed. More than 300 government forces deployed in the Manbij area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “The regime forces will not enter the city of Manbij itself but will deploy on the demarcation line” with Turkish-backed Syrian groups, she said. – Kurdish shift –Their deployment creates a regime buffer arching across northern Syria that fully separates the Turkish army and its proxies from the Kurds.

Source: Egypt Independent December 28, 2018 13:30 UTC