CENTCOM Commander: We Will not Withdraw from Manbij

Click to read the article in Turkish/Kurdish

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Joseph Votel told CNN they don’t plan to withdraw from Manbij.

In his statement last week, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the operation launched into Afrin can be extended to Manbij.

FM Çavuşoğlu: They must immediately withdraw

On Saturday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, “The US has to cut its ties with a terrorist organization and also have to make them lay down arms. The US needs to take back the weapons they gave. They must immediately withdraw from Manbij”.

Erdoğan: I told them “Then you will withdraw your forces”

In his column today (January 29), Hürriyet columnist Abdülkadir Selvi wrote about the dialogue on the phone between President Erdoğan and US President Donald Ttrump:

“I told Trump on the phone that we will enter Manbij. He said ‘We have forces there’, and I told him ‘then you will withdraw your forces to the secure zone”.