Turkey’s president rebukes US over Kurdish militia in Manbij, Syria – report

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the US has failed to comply with the timescale agreed for the withdrawal of the Kurdish YPG militia from northern Syrian city of Manbij, according to a Hurriyet newspaper report published on Friday. Turkish and US forces are now carrying out patrols in Manbij to clear the area of YPG, a group that Turkey views as a terrorist organization linked to Kurdish militants on its own territory, Reuters said. However, Erdogan insisted that YPG forces remain in Manbij, accusing the US of not holding to commitments under the roadmap agreed in June. “The US certainly did not comply with the agreed calendar of the Manbij roadmap; YPG did not exit the area,” Erdogan was quoted as saying to reporters following his visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. “The US did not keep their promise here,” he said.