Fierce fighting continues between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Manbij (Minbic), a strategic canton governed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Contrary to media propaganda the people’s resistance in Manbij has not been defeated, the Manbij Military Council, a local SDF-affiliated militia set up to coordinate the liberation of Manbij from ISIS in 2016, stated.
The SDF reported that the Turkish-backed SNA, having been attempting to infiltrate and occupy the city of Manbij and surrounding areas for several days, has suffered a decisive blow, with the capture of 14 SNA mercenaries and the killing of two. Turkey has been directly supporting the SNA attacks with air strikes on the entire Manbij canton, including a bombing of the Manbij Military Council premises while a journalist was conducting an interview inside the building.
As the Ba’ath regime fell on Sunday, Turkish-backed mercenaries launched intense attacks in the Manbij region. “The citizens of Manbij today [Sunday] celebrated the fall of the Ba’ath regime. Some mercenary cells took advantage of the situation and tried to take control of the city,” explained Farhad Shami, head of the SDF’s press office. “The internal security forces [Asayish] responded to the mercenaries with great courage,” he added, catagorically denying a defeat.
Shami also highlighted how Turkish state media outlet Anadolu Agency had reported the city as having fallen, allegedly in order to scare people and convince them to leave. He made it clear that the military initiative in the Manbij region is firmly in the hands of the SDF, and that the SDF and the people are mobilising to fight the Turkish-backed mercenaries. “Occupying Manbij is not that easy,” he added.
The AANES said in a statement that: “The aim of these attacks [on Manbij] is to break the will of the people and reverse the truth of what is happening on the ground.” Local media outlets such as Ronahi TV and ANHA news agency reported on a ‘special war’ to distance the people of Manbij from their own land, coupled with media propaganda that plays down the SDF’s resistance.
Elsewhere in Syria, the movements of the jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed SNA still continue after the fall of Assad, and in the meantime the US Air Force is reported to have carried out nearly 100 strikes against ISIS and other groups across Syria. The fighting goes on…
