The main Turkey-backed Syrian rebel force said on Friday that its convoys, along with Turkish forces, were moving towards the frontlines with the Syrian town of Manbij. The forces were in "full readiness... to start military operations to liberate" the town, according to Reuters. Earlier, the Syrian army said it had deployed forces to Manbij after the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) urged Damascus to protect the town from a possible Turkish assault. Turkey regards YPG as a terrorist group and a threat to its own territory. On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued that Turkey has been working for Syrias territorial integrity and said Turkeys goal remains the defeat of the YPG.