ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Manbij Military Council said their forces have not withdrawn from the city where they have the backing of their American allies as Turkey and the United States are holding talks about the future of the northern Syrian city. Turkey and the US are working together on a “roadmap” for Manbij, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told journalists on Wednesday. “There are concrete steps in this roadmap and these are connected to a concrete calendar. The concrete steps are: YPG will be expelled from there and then Turkey and the US will decide what administration and security force will replace the YPG,” explained Cavusoglu, reported Turkish Hurriyet newspaper. The Kurdish YPG force is tied to the political party PYD that controls the self-autonomous region of Rojava in northern Syria. The Manbij Military Council (MMC) was formed with backing from the YPG and led the campaign to liberate the city from ISIS in 2016. The YPG and MMC are allied with the US-led coalition against ISIS under the umbrella of the SDF. Ankara considers the Kurdish forces branches of the banned PKK and has threatened military action against Manbij, as it did in Afrin. Related: Politics aside, Manbij residents wary of another 'unwanted' war Cavusoglu said that over 90 percent of Manbij residents are Arab and only two percent are Kurds, therefore “Kurds’ share in administration should be no more than two percent.” If the model they devise for Manbij is “successful,” then Cavusoglu said they will do the same to other YPG-held areas like Raqqa and Kobane. The dispute over Manbij has put the United States into the position of trying to prevent a conflict between two of its allies. Cavusoglu claimed that the US wants to “cut the connection between YPG and Qandil,” referring to the PKK headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil mountains. Shervan Derwish spokesperson for the MMC denied reports that their forces had withdrawn from the city, explaining that they remain in place alongside coalition forces. “Many people want to harm the security and stability in the region, therefore they publish such news,” he told Hawar news agency on Wednesday. A village northwest of Manbij came under Turkish artillery fire on Wednesday, the council’s press office reported. Their fighters responded to the attack that had targeted civilians. Derwish noted that a US delegation visited Manbij recently and reiterated their support for the council and said the US and Turkey have not yet reached an agreement. Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the US Department of State, confirmed that a final agreement has not yet been reached and talks are ongoing. In talks on Friday, the US and Turkey “outlined the contours of a roadmap for further cooperation, and that includes on Manbij,” Nauert told reporters on Tuesday and discussions will continue when Cavusoglu visits Washington on June 4.
