Syrian SANA news agency’s correspondent said locals gathered in the city center, carrying Syrian flags and cheering for the army.
The move comes after the Syrian Kurds reached a deal with Damascus brokered by Russia to confront Turkey's incursion into the north of Syria. It also came after the US withdrew its troops from the area.
According to Reuters, Russian and Syrian flags were flying from a building on the city outskirts, and from a convoy of military vehicles, according to Reuters journalists who accompanied the Syrian troops.
Moscow’s Defense Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying that Syrian forces had taken control of an area of more than 1,000 square kilometers around Manbij. This included Tabqa military airfield, two hydroelectric power plants and several bridges across the Euphrates river, it said.
Also yesterday, the SDF forces handed over the control of several other cities including Tel Temmer near the border with Turkey and Ain Issa in the north of Raqqa which all previously were held by the Kurdish forces as part of the agreement.
KI