Syrian government forces enter Kurdish region
DAMASCUS 25 Dec (ANA) - Syrian government forces have entered the country's northern border region of Manbij controlled by Kurdish fighters, local sources told Al Jazeera and Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.
Trucks carrying regime forces and equipment, two tanks, and other armoured vehicles have arrived in the village of Arimah in the western countryside of Manbij, sources told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday. Arimah is 25km away from the centre of Manbij.
The development comes a day after Turkish-backed Syrian fighters dispatched fighters and armoured vehicles to the front line along Manbij and days after Washington took an unexpected decision to withdraw troops from Syria.
Manbij is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), seen as a "terrorist" group by Turkey.
Ankara says a Turkish operation in Syria will target areas under the control of YPG fighters, including Manbij.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Ankara and Washington agreed to complete withdrawal of the YPG forces from Manbij before the US pulls out of Syria.
He added the US agreed to take back weapons given to the YPG.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his threats to target Kurdish fighters.
Turkey was in Syria "to return the freedom of our Arab brothers and sisters, to return the freedom of our Kurdish brothers and sisters", Erdogan said during a speech.
Turkey has sent reinforcements at the border with Syria in the previous days, with local media reporting that some vehicles had crossed it.
In the past two years, Turkey has conducted two offensives into northern Syria, dubbed "Euphrates Shield" and "Olive Branch".(ANA)
FA/ANA/25 December 2018------