Syrian army says troops entered city to thwart Turkish offensive

ISTANBUL — The Syrian army said Friday it has entered a key city in northern Syria at the behest of local Kurdish fighters, raising the government flag in a bid to thwart Turkish plans for a military offensive.

But both the U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan contested the claims about Syrian troop movement.

Kurdish forces known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, had called on Syria’s government to “assert control” in the city of Manbij and protect it “against a Turkish invasion” following a buildup of Turkish troops and tanks in the area, the YPG said in a statement Friday morning.

The Syrian army said its units “entered Manbij city and raised the Syrian flag,” the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The military said in a statement Friday that it did so “in response to calls from residents” and to “reimpose sovereignty over every inch of Syrian territory.”

But the exact location of the troops could not be confirmed. A fighter with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a text message that government forces had not yet deployed.

A spokesman for U.S.led coalition fighting the Islamic State tweeted, “Despite incorrect information about changes to military forces in the city of Manbij, Syria, #CJTFOIR has seen no indication that these claims are true. We call on everyone to respect the integrity of Manbij and the safety of its citizens.”

Erdogan told reporters Friday in Istanbul that the Syrian army’s announcement was a “psychological operation” and that “nothing was certain” regarding troop movements in the area.

In any case, “these areas belong to Syria,” he said in comments carried by Turkey’s state broadcaster.

“Once the terrorist organizations leave the area, we will have nothing left to do there,” he said.

Turkey said this month it would launch a sweeping incursion east of the Euphrates River to target the YPG fighters it says threaten its security. Turkish forces have fought a decades-long battle against separatist Kurdish guerrillas at home.