Turkey announces end of Syria incursion without Manbij
The release came only two days after Erdogan told a Turkish TV that his army was "nearing" Manbij.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - Turkey's National Security Council (MGK) on Wednesday declared an end to its military incursion into northern Syria seven months after its beginning last year and after failing the avowed goal of capturing the Kurdish-held town of Manbij.
Convening under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the council's meeting attended by ministers and top generals in Ankara lasted for four hours, said Kurdistan24 Bureau in the Turkish capital.
A press release by the Council stated that the Operation Euphrates Shield "successfully" came to a conclusion, reported the bureau.
The statement came only two days after Erdogan told a Turkish TV that his army was "nearing" Manbij.
The operation began in mid-2016 with the purpose of driving the Islamic State (IS) from south of Turkey-Syria border to deny further territorial gains to the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
A leading member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) told his party's supporters over the weekend that the reason Turkey launched Euphrates Shield was to prevent the formation of a Greater Kurdistan.
Although Turkey realized its objective of not allowing the YPG create a contiguous Kurdish-ruled region by linking the self-declared cantons of Afrin and Kobani, it failed to push Kurdish forces to the east of the River Euphrates.
In 2015, with rapid Kurdish victories against an IS in retreat, Turkey declared the river as a "red line" for the Kurdish groups they label as "terrorists" for ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has been fighting Turkish troops.
But with the US air cover as well as special operations forces backing, the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) crossed the river despite fierce Turkish objections and liberated Manbij from the IS in August 2016.
Manbij's capture by the SDF, which the US generals have described as their most effective ally against the IS, led to the urgent Turkish intervention.
One of the most strategic goals of the operation was an invasion of Manbij, as repeatedly threatened by President Erdogan and other leaders, arguing the area "belonged to Arabs."
The February seizure of the northern Aleppo town of al-Bab in a months-long, bloody battle by the Turkish military and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) faction it backs had already brought the incursion to a stall.
A conflict of interests with the US that went for an SDF liberation of the de facto IS capital of Raqqa led to a passive confrontation between the two NATO allies near Manbij.
With the arrival of US special forces reinforcements this month to a demarcation line between YPG-dominated forces and Turkish army north of Manbij, the prospects of further Turkish expansion on the ground in Syria effectively ended.
The operation cost lives of at least 70 Turkish soldiers according to official figures.
Editing by Ava Homa