US TROOPS blocked the Syrian army from entering Kobane and Manbij this morning, despite a deal being struck with Kurdish forces allowing them to defend the semi-autonomous region known as Rojava.

A military agreement has been negotiated by the Syrian Democratic Forces militia alliance under which the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) would enter the largely Kurdish cities of Kobane and Manbij.

The government forces began mobilising to the area late on Sunday night to protect the towns, which had come under fierce bombardment by the Turkish military and its jihadist allies of the Free Syrian Army.