(Daily Mail), 27 December 2018 - Russia has told Turkey to let the Syrian government take back areas vacated by US troops with Ankara preparing to clear Kurdish fighters from a town in the war-torn country.  

The Kremlin’s Foreign Ministry said it expects the territory to be handed to Assad’s forces after US president Donald Trump announced a pullout from the country last week - a move that surprised allies and sparked the resignation of two of his top aides.  

Turkey has said it is working with Washington to coordinate the withdrawal of US forces but remains ‘determined’ to clear US-allied Kurdish fighters from Manbij in northern Syria. Pictures have emerged today showing Turkish armoured military vehicles and troop carriers being dispatched to the border with Syria.