BEIRUT (Reuters) - The main Turkey-backed Syrian rebel force said on Friday that its convoys, along with Turkish forces, were moving toward the frontlines with the Syrian town of Manbij, in “full readiness... to start military operations to liberate” the town.

Earlier, the Syrian army said it had deployed forces to Manbij after the Kurdish YPG militia urged Damascus to protect the town from a possible Turkish assault. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group and a threat to its own territory.