A convoy of Syrian Kurdish fighters has pulled out of the flash-point area of Manbij in northern Syria, close to territory controlled by Turkey, Syria's defense ministry said on Wednesday.

Some 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, the town occupies a critical spot on the map of the Syrian conflict, near the junction of three separate blocks of territory that form spheres of Russian, Turkish and — for now — U.S. influence.

"According to information, approximately 400 Kurdish fighters have left Manbij so far," the Syrian defense ministry said. Their departure was in line with an agreement "for the return of normal life to the area of northern Syria," it said.