Joint Turkish, US patrols in Manbij imminent, says DefMin

Joint patrols by Turkish and U.S. forces in Syria’s Manbij are imminent, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday.

"The training process has been completed and joint patrols will begin today or tomorrow," he said

The patrols are part of a roadmap established between Turkey and the U.S. in June that focuses on the withdrawal of forces of the PKK’s Syrian affiliate YPG to stabilize the city, which is in the Aleppo province.

Turkey and the United States have completed preparations for joint patrols in northern Syria’s Manbij area, Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Sean Robertson said on Monday.

Turkish and U.S. forces participated in a training program that included rehearsals of mounted patrol operations, weapons training, IED procedures, vehicle recovery, stabilizing traffic control points and situation de-escalation exercises.

After Manbij, Turkey will target terror hotspots east of the Euphrates, Akar said.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) on Sunday bombed positions belonging to terrorists of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian affiliate, the YPG, on the eastern shore of the Euphrates River in Syria.

Artillery shells were fired at the YPG-occupied Zour Magyar to the west of northern Syria's Ayn al-Arab region and was aimed at preventing terrorist activities.

Recalling the Sept. 17 deal on Syria's Idlib province, signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Akar said: “As a result of this, radicals and weapons in a 15-20 kilometer corridor were removed.”

Ankara and Moscow also signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the “stabilization” of Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will conduct joint patrols in the area with a view to preventing renewed fighting.

“There will be [Turkish-Russian] joint patrols. So, a peace environment will be established and 3.5 million people will be able to live there,” he said.