Jun 6, 2018

The strategic town of Manbij in northern Syria won't be abandoned by the US-led coalition, a local military official said Wednesday after the leading Kurdish militia announced its withdrawal.

On Tuesday the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said it was pulling its military advisers from Manbij, where they had been training local forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.

The announcement came a day after an agreement between the US and Turkey over the future of the Arab-majority town, which sits just 30 kilometres (about 20 miles) from the Turkish border.

Manbij's military council had not been privy to the details of the deal, but it has received reassurances that the US-led coalition will not leave the town, the council's chief Mohamad Mustafa Abu Adel said.

"With this agreement, we have had meetings with high-level officials from the coalition who have assured us that in no case will they abandon the town of Manbij," Abu Adel told AFP.