Ankara’s talk of Turkish-US control in Manbij, Syria premature – local official

A Turkish assertion that US and Turkish forces will temporarily control northern Syria’s Manbij region is premature and lacks credibility, a Manbij local official said on Wednesday. Sharfan Darwish, spokesman for the Manbij Military Council, was responding to a statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that US and Turkish forces would hold the Manbij region until a new administration is created. “The Turkish statements are a way of exerting pressure and creating confusion in Manbij, impacting its stability,” Darwish told Reuters. The official added that no agreement had yet been reached between Turkey and the US on the future of Manbij.