ISTANBUL — Russia announced Tuesday that its units were patrolling between Turkish and Syrian military forces near the strategically important Syrian town of Manbij, in a sign that Moscow, a key ally of the Syrian government, was moving to fill a security vacuum after U.S. troops withdrew from the area.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that military police in northwestern Manbij were patrolling “along the line of contact between” Syria and Turkey, with a senior Russian official saying Moscow was working to prevent a confrontation between them.
The Americans, who withdrew as part of President Trump’s sudden pullout of U.S. forces from northern Syria, left behind a military outpost that suggested a hurried exit, according to videos posted by smiling Russian soldiers and journalists who toured the base.
View the complete October 15 article by Kareem Fahim, Sarah Dadouch and Will Englund on The Washington Post website here.