New government forces’ reinforcements enter north Syria’s Manbij
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – on Sunday, new military reinforcements belonging to Syrian government forces arrived in the city of Manbij, through al-Tayha crossing, southwest of the city, in northern Syria.
An eyewitness from Abu Kahf village, 30 km north of Manbij, told North Press that eight vehicles loaded with two field artillery, rocket launchers, ammunition and personnel entered from al-Tayha crossing and headed towards the front lines in Manbij.
The reinforcements come within the framework of recent understandings between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government, with a Russian guarantee, to deploy government forces along the front lines extending from al-Hoshariya village, northeast of Manbij, to al-Arima district, west of Manbij.
The reinforcements were accompanied by a flight of Russian helicopters and warplanes, according to the source.
On July 15, the SDF Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi, said in a press conference, that they “accepted that the Syrian Army fortifies its posts in Kobani, Manbij and border areas in order to carry out its task to protect Syrian border, and we will do what is needed to avoid war against our areas.”
On July 12, the government and Russian forces brought in a number of personnel, vehicles and heavy weapons to the village of al-Thiabat, north of Manbij.
This is the first time for the Syrian government forces to deploy soldiers in the region, as they have had only one post inside the village since 2019, according to a source from the village.
The Russian forces established a stationing post in al-Hussan village, northeast of Manbij, near the front lines in al-Hoshariya village.
The SDF liberated Manbij from ISIS rule in 2016, and the city is now under the control of the SDF-aligned Manbij Military Council (MMC).