“We are aware the SDF has repositioned some forces in response to recent tensions, however this was not under coalition direction,” Pentagon spokesperson Adrian Rankine-Galloway said in a statement to Hurriyet on Jan. 30.

The spokesperson did not detail the location of the repositioning but said “these movements of forces are not conducted under the direction or with the support of the coalition,” he said, referring to the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).

According to Hurriyet daily Galloway said “We are fully engaged in working with our Turkish ally to de-escalate tensions along the Turkish-Syrian border and to ensure the lasting defeat of IS.”

“We are closely monitoring the situation in northwest Syria. Turkey clearly has legitimate concerns and they have a need for secure borders. We believe the presence of U.S. forces is helping to calm the talk about violence which could de-stabilize the situation during what is a critical time for the local population to be able to establish security against any resurgence of ISIS or of terrorist ideology,” he said.

“Our partnership with the SDF is limited in scope to operations to defeat IS,” he added.

“Kurdish forces that are engaged with Turkish forces near the Afrin region do not have any affiliation with the global coalition whatsoever,” he also said.

“The coalition’s only official relationship in Manbij is with the Manbij Military Council, a majority-Arab force aligned with the SDF and created to fight IS. Our larger partnership with the SDF is limited to operations and activities that they undertake to defeat IS,” Galloway said.

U.S. troops will not withdraw from Manbij, a strategically important city in northern Syria, Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told CNN International on Jan. 28.

Votel said withdrawing U.S. forces from Manbij is “not something we are looking into,” the broadcaster reported.

Reporter’s code: 50101