DAMASCUS, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) invited the Syrian army on Friday to enter the city of Manbij in northern Syria to stand in the face of a planned Turkish campaign.

The YPG said in a statement that its forces have withdrawn from Manbij, urging the Syrian forces to assume control over that city in the northern countryside of Aleppo province near the Turkish border.

"We invite the Syrian government forces ... to assert control over the areas where our forces have withdrawn from, particularly Manbij, and to protect these areas against a Turkish invasion," the statement said.

The YPG added that it will focus on the fight against the Islamic State (IS) on the east of the Euphrates River.

Handing over Manbij to the Syrian army came in light of the recent Turkish threats to launch a wide-scale campaign against the Kurdish militia in northern and northeastern Syria.

Earlier this year, the Kurdish militia lost the northern enclave of Afrin to the Turkish forces after rejecting the entry of the Syrian forces to assume control of the region.

The Kurdish militia seems to have learned from that lesson, which explains its decision to hand over Manbij to the Syrian army this time.

It's worth noting that the U.S. forces have a presence in Manbij, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led Manbij Military Council.

Earlier this year, the U.S. agreed with Turkey to run joint patrols between Manbij and its countryside, which is controlled by the Turkish-backed groups.

Ankara has urged the U.S. to push the YPG to withdraw from Manbij. The YPG later said that it had withdrawn from parts of it, a claim which didn't seem to resonate with Turkey.

Turkey recently threatened to enter Manbij in its planned campaign against the Kurdish militia in northern and northeastern Syria, mainly in the eastern Euphrates River region.

This week, reports said that the Syrian army's convoys were seen entering an area on the western outskirts of Manbij with no comments from Damascus.

The Turkish side has for long opposed the growing influence of the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

Turkey regards the YPG and their allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as separatists and terrorists, due to their links with the Turkey-banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

But with the entry of the Syrian army, Turkey would be stripped of the pretext to launch a campaign and to enter Manbij.

The Kurdish militia groups, which have been controlling areas in northern and northeastern Syria since the early time of the more than seven-year war, have felt the pinch after the recent decision of the U.S. forces to withdraw from Syria.

The U.S. has provided the Kurdish-backed groups with substantial aid to consolidate their gains in northern Syria and to launch offensives to retake areas held by the IS group.

The SDF succeeded to make important gains in the fight against IS in its last stronghold in the eastern Euphrates in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late Thursday that the IS militants are taking their last breathes in the eastern Euphrates as a result of the campaign of the SDF, which has been ongoing since September.

Some local reports recently suggested that a delegation of the Kurdish militia visited Moscow where talks were taking place on the need for the Kurdish forces to hand over areas to the Syrian army.

For the Syrian government officials, all Syrian areas must be retaken by the Syrian army.

Ahead of the Turkish decision to launch a campaign and the U.S. surprise decision to withdraw from Syria, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said that a Kurdish federal rule or independence is totally rejected.

Local experts said that the only way to avoid a possible confrontation in northern Syria is to make Kurdish fighters return under the umbrella of the Syrian government.

It's not yet clear what will be the case in other Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria, but the Friday statement could be a prelude to finding a long-lasting solution to the situation of the Kurdish militia in northern Syria. Enditem

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