Free Republic

The Turkish foreign minister says Turkey and the United States have reached an agreement on a plan to jointly station Turkish and U.S. forces in the Syrian Kurdish-held town of Manbij. Washington has not confirmed any such plan — and a small contingent of U.S. forces is already in Manbij. Turkey is riled by U.S. support to the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG, and accuses the U.S. of allegedly not fulfilling a promise to move the Syrian Kurdish fighters in Manbij east of the Euphrates River. Ankara has threatened to expand its current offensive in northern Syria to...

Those big armored fighting vehicles are not inconspicuous—and that appears to have been the point. Last weekend, US Stryker armored fighting vehicles appeared seemingly out of nowhere in Syria and descended onto the Kurdish-held town of Manbij. Their arrival was anything but inconspicuous, as the convoy of multiple Strykers, in various configurations, along with tricked-out Humvees rolled across the Euphrates river in broad daylight, with giant American flags whipping in the air above them. After we reported on the story, the vehicles appeared to have made it to Manbij, and proceeded to move all around the vicinity of the city...

After two years of rule, ISIS was expelled from most of the city of Manbij in Northern Syria on August 13, 2016. The battle between ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—a US-backed coalition made up of of Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Turkmen, and Circassian militias—lasted 73 days and the SDF says it will continue the battle until Manbij is fully liberated. The operation was named “Operation Martyr Commander Faysal Abu Leyla” in honor of the Kurdish FSA and SDF Commander Faisal “Abu Leyla” Sadoun, who was killed by an ISIS sniper on June 6, 2016. Before withdrawing, however, ISIS...

American military drones monitored Islamic State militants loading up hundreds of cars, buses and trucks with fighters and civilians and fleeing the city of Manbij, Syria, on Friday, as Syrian rebels advanced and the extremists lost yet another stronghold. On Wednesday, the Libyan city of Surt, held by the Islamic State for more than a year, also fell to pro-government militiamen, and the militants lost the headquarters from which they had ruled more than 150 miles of Libyan coastline. The two new victories against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, could have a significant effect on the...

For the first time in over two-and-a-half years, the women of Manbij, Syria walked with their faces uncovered Saturday, some of them even setting their niqabs on fire. Men shaved or trimmed their beards. Smokers of both sexes lit up and puffed away. U.S.-backed fighters seized the key northern Syria city late Friday after two months of heavy fighting that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands more. The fighters also freed hundreds of civilians the extremists had used as human shields, Syrian Kurdish officials and an opposition activist group said. Amateur videos showed civilians hugging fighters from the...

Latest developments in the town of Manbij indicate that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), mainly comprised of Kurdish fighters, are about to push ISIL (ISIS / Daesh) back from its positions and capture the remaining districts of Manbij in coming hours, military sources said Saturday. "The SDF fighters are about to prevail over ISIL's defense lines in Central Manbij after wining back a key neighborhood this morning," informed sources said. "After seizure of al-Kajli neighborhood, the SDF fighters have stormed ISIL's positions from Southwestern part of the town and are nearing to enter Central Manbij," the sources said. "Al-Bazar bridge...

U.S.-backed forces seized control of the last route into Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria on Friday, completing their encirclement of the main target in a major advance against the militants, a monitoring group said. The Syria Democratic Forces, supported by U.S.-led air strikes and American special forces, launched and advance last week to seize Islamic State's last territory on the Syria-Turkey border and cut the self-declared caliphate off from the world. Other enemies of Islamic State, including the governments of Syria and Iraq, also launched major offensives on other fronts, in what amounts to the most sustained...

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Turkey’s National Security Council headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday threatened that Ankara would “take action” to drive out Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq if the United States and Baghdad failed to do so.The council’s monthly meeting in Ankara, comprised of civilian and military Turkish leadership, lasted four hours.“Turkey will not hesitate to use initiative if terrorists in Manbij are not driven away,” a statement on Erdogan’s presidential website read, warning the US whose special forces there in the northern Syrian town continue to work with Kurdish-led groups. .. In sterner...

US State Department refuted claims of a deal with Turkish government over Northern Syrian town on Manbij. In today’s daily press briefing U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert was asked about Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin’s claims about a deal between the US and Turkey over Manbij “Well that’s funny because no agreement has been reached” she said. Nauert said her department did not have anything to announce in response to a Turkish statement. Yesterday Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Kalın said that the U.S. and Turkey have reached an agreement over Manbij and he said the implementation of Manbij deal would...

Dana White, chief spokeswoman for the Pentagon, said she was aware of news reports that Turkey has asked the U.S. military to leave Manbij, but was not aware of any direct conversations about it, AP quoted her as saying. At this point, the Pentagon is not aware of any changes in the location of U.S. troops there, the AP report said.snipLt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie downplayed the chances of U.S. troops being threatened, but still noted that they will defend themselves if necessary, AP said.

Erdogan said the operation against the Afrin enclave aims to “purge terror” from his country’s southern border. Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG. Turkey considers the YPG to be a terrorist group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has waged a bloody insurgency within its borders. A YPG spokesman in Afrin said clashes erupted after midnight between his unit and Turkish troops near the border with Turkey. Rojhat Roj said the shelling of areas in Afrin district, in Aleppo province, killed one YPG fighter and injured a couple of civilians on...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the United States was trying to create a “terror army” on Turkey’s southern frontier by training a Syrian border force that includes a Kurdish militia, and pledged to crush it before it came into being. snip Erdogan also said that Turkey’s armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria and the town of Manbij.

Al-Monitor has learned that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to travel to Turkey March 30. He will be the most senior US official to formally visit Turkey since the Donald Trump administration took office in January. A senior Turkish official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that Tillerson was expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, among others. The official was unaware of Tillerson’s full itinerary but said it would not be unusual for the secretary to visit other countries in the region as well. The official declined to elaborate any further. In an emailed...

A high-ranking representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces, who wished not to disclose his name, has told Sputnik Turkiye that the US is "taking all necessary measures" to defend the Syrian city of Manbij from an attack by the Turkish military. It has set up a military base in the city and hung up its flag as a "warning sign" to Ankara. The US is "taking all necessary measures" to defend the Syrian city of Manbij in the Aleppo Governorate, 30 kilometers west of the Euphrates, which is currently under control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), from an attack by the Turkish Armed Forces and fighters from the...

The Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield rebels in Syria attacked positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Wednesday afternoon. This comes just one day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan vowed to attack Manbij after completing the al-Bab operation. “Concurrent heavy attacks on our positions in Manbij, by ISIS from south and Turkish, pro extremist militias from west, with heavy clashes,” SDF spokesman Sharvan Darwish said.The Turkish army and allied Islamist rebels attacked the villages of Gorhiko, Holash and Halide–about 29 km southwest of Manbij, the pro-SDF ANHA agency reported.In the meantime, ISIS attacked the villages of Mesterîhe and Cedîde, 20 km southwest of Manbij.Fighters...

Manbij Military Council spokesperson Shervan Derwish Tensions have mounted in northern Syria since Turkish-FSA Euphrates Shield forces captured the town of al-Bab from the Islamic State (IS) group last week.Sporadic clashes between FSA and Syrian government forces to the south of al-Bab since then have turned on Wednesday to attacks on Manbij, a city to the east of al-Bab held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).Reports of clashes in several villages to the west and northwest of Manbij have been followed by claims by pro-FSA sources that rebels have taken at least three villages from the SDF. Concurrent attacks by the IS group on...

He said a special field source of our "News 24" of the countryside Manbej for the stationing of US troops in the countryside Manbej to put an end to the attacks carried out by the Turkish forces and elements of the shield of the Euphrates on Monday, the military council Manbej sites, in case of any wider or provocative operations carried out by Turkey's ally the direction of new attacks Washington on Syrian territory. This and had confirmed Gen. Joseph Votel turn, and during his visit to Kobani on the twentieth of January last we Kqguat international coalition committed to...

US Central Command General Joseph Votel has promised the defence of Manbij from any possible attacks by Turkey and Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups, according to reports.In a visit to the autonomous region in northern Syria (Rojava) on Friday, which was reported by Kom News, General Votel met with Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) officials in a four hour meeting.Speaking to AFP, SDF spokesperson Talal Silo commented on the meeting saying, “We talked about the coordination between the SDF and Washington and increasing support for the SDF. They promised us heavy weapons for the upcoming...

MANBIJ- AKP authorities in Turkey cut off Euphrates River water from Tishrin Dam, consequently, ceasing the dam from generating electricity, and that resulted in depriving people from power.People in North of Syria particularly in Kobanî canton and Manbij are suffering from cutting off the electricity as the Turkish government cut off Euphrates water which reduced water level in Tishrin Dam Lake, and therefore, the power cut off on many North Syria areas.Since Friday night, the power totally has been cut off after ceasing Tishrin Dam from generating electricity. Soon, the management of Tishrin Dam released a statement and made the...

The Manbij military council, a multi-ethnic assembly for the various groups that successfully liberated Manbij from the Islamic State (IS) group last year, has responded to Turkish plans to capture Manbij, Raqqa and even Afrin after their assault on al-Bab as part of the Turkish army’s Euphrates Shield operation.Speaking to Firat News Agency (ANF), the Manbij Military Council announced that they will not accept any kind of military intervention by the Turkish army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups it is backing, adding that Manbij will be defended if any such attack comes.The Manbij Military Council members also said that the Turkish army has been...