US-Turkey roadmap for Manbij includes withdrawal of YPG - State Dept.

Washington confirms that the roadmap for the Syrian city of Manbij includes the withdrawal of Kurdish militants
Tuesday, 05 June 2018 16:25

The US State Department confirms that the roadmap for the Syrian city of Manbij that Turkey and the United States have agreed to includes the withdrawal of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and their replacement by locals, Sputnik reported citing a senior State Department official said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

"The agreement is that the YPG cadres that are involved in governance will withdraw and move and they can be replaced by locals who are mutually agreeable," the official was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

Senior U.S. officials say that a U.S.-Turkey deal for Kurdish-led troops to withdraw from the strategic city includes "estimated timelines" but no hard-and-fast deadlines for steps to be taken. They say implementation will be timed based on events on the ground, Associated Press reported.

The officials weren't authorized to be identified by name and requested anonymity, it added.