The People's Protection Units (YPG) - the PKK's Syrian wing - will be removed from Manbij's city center once Turkish-U.S. joint patrols start.
With locals demanding for the departure of YPG terrorists, local sources said that Turkish and American troops will start joint patrols on the outskirts of the northern Syrian province and then advance to the city center.
The Manbij patrols are part of the road map that Ankara and Washington agreed upon in June to defuse tensions amid demands for the withdrawal of the U.S.-backed YPG militia. Manbij has been a major sticking point in the strained relations between the U.S. and Turkey. Ankara considers the YPG to be an organic extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
The Ministry of National Defense also said on Tuesday evening that thee first batch of U.S. army personnel have arrived in Turkey to join training for joint patrols in Manbij. A statement on the Turkish ministry's official website said efforts to start the training are ongoing.
"Within this scope, the first groups of personnel from the U.S. Armed Forces have arrived in Turkey," the ministry said. "Following the completion of training, joint patrols will start."
YPG controls nearly a quarter of Syria. This territory, where they have carved out autonomous rule, is the largest chunk of Syria outside the regime's hands.
Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in August 2016 and ended in March 2017, was aimed at eliminating the terrorist threat along the Turkish border with the use of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), backed by Turkish artillery and air cover.
On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to push YPG and Daesh terrorists from Afrin. On March 18, Turkish troops and the FSA liberated the Afrin district center.
The patrols are the next phase in the fight against terrorists in the region.
Ankara also will gear up efforts to reshape the local administration in the province.
The leaders of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is spearheaded by the YPG, on the other hand, see signs of renewed U.S. interest in the oil-rich region they control in northern and eastern Syria, Reuters reported.
A spate of visits to Syria by U.S. diplomats in the past two months and a new readiness to discuss the country's future point to a longer-term U.S. commitment, YPG leaders said.
"We feel they [the Americans] are more committed now," Aldar Xelil, a top YPG figure, said.
Meanwhile, the presidential memorandum on extending the government's authority to use the Turkish military in cross-border operations in northern Iraq and Syria for one more year was approved yesterday at the general assembly of Parliament.
The motion, which was submitted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had stated that Turkey attaches great importance to the protection of Iraq's territorial integrity, national unity and stability.
"However, the existence of the PKK and Daesh in Iraq, poses a direct threat to regional peace, stability and the security of our country," it added.
