DAMASCUS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A convoy of 30 vehicles carrying Kurdish fighters left Syria's northern city of Manbij on Wednesday toward areas on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, the Syrian Defense Ministry said.

The withdrawal of the Kurdish fighters is part of a deal to "restore normal life to areas in the north of the country," the ministry said in a statement.

The convoy withdrew to the town of Qura Qozan on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, 25 km northeast of Manbij, the statement added.

The ministry said that around 400 Kurdish fighters have so far left Manbij since Jan. 1, 2019.

The Syrian army declared last Friday entering Manbij and raising the Syrian flag in it, following the withdrawal of Kurdish militia, according to the state TV.

Activists said the Syrian army was deployed on the frontline between the Kurdish-led Manbij Military Council (MMC) and the Turkey-backed rebels who are stationed in the countryside of Manbij in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo province.

The entry of the Syrian army comes as the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) invited the Syrian army to enter the city of Manbij to stand in the face of a planned Turkish campaign.

Handing over Manbij to the Syrian army comes in light of the recent Turkish threats to launch a wide-scale campaign against the Kurdish militia in northern and northeastern Syria.

The Kurdish militia lost the northern enclave of Afrin in earlier 2018 to the Turkish forces after they rejected the entry of the Syrian government forces to assume control of Afrin.

The Kurdish militia seems to have learned from that lesson, which explains their decision to hand over Manbij to the Syrian army this time.

It is worth noting that the U.S. forces still have a presence in Manbij, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The United States agreed with Turkey in earlier 2018 to run joint patrols between Manbij and its countryside, which is controlled by the Turkish-backed groups.

Ankara has urged the Washington to push the YPG to withdraw from Manbij and later the YPG said it had withdrawn from parts of it, a claim which did not seem to have resonated with Turkey.

Turkey deems the YPG and the allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as terrorist and separatist groups due to their links with the Ankara-banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

But with the entry of the Syrian army, Turkey would be stripped of the pretext to launch a campaign and to enter Manbij, which is the first area the Turkish forces are planning to enter.

The Kurdish militia groups, which have been controlling areas in northern and northeastern Syria since the early time of the more than seven-year-long war, have felt the pinch after the recent decision of the U.S. forces to withdraw from Syria.

The United States has provided the Kurdish-backed groups with substantial aid to consolidate their gains in northern Syria and to launch offensives to retake areas held by the Islamic State (IS) group.