Turkey targets village in Syria’s Manbij twice in two days
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – For the second successive day, Turkish forces and their affiliated armed Syrian opposition factions, also known as the Syrian national Army (SNA), shelled on Saturday a village north of Manbij, northern Syria.
In blatant violation of ceasefire agreements, the Turkish forces and the SNA factions escalated shelling of border villages and contact lines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Following the Turkish incursion in October 2019, Turkey signed two, one with Russia and the other with the US stipulating ceasing all hostilities and the withdrawal of the SDF 32 km away from the Turkish border.
On October 13, the Manbij Military Council (MMC), affiliated with the SDF, said that the Turkish forces, stationed in its base near the village of Arab Hassan north of Manbij, targeted the village with mortar shells.
On June 29, Turkish forces bombed Arab Hassan and killed two children.
A guided missile targeted the house of a civilian called Abdullatif al-Hanafi, killing his two children aged 12 and 13.
Following its liberation from ISIS, the Arabs, Kurds, Circassians and Turkmen, who constitute the fabric of Manbij, established their own administration under the name of Democratic Civil Administration of Manbij and its Countryside to run the affairs of their region. Then, this administration joined the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The city of Manbij, east of Aleppo, is one of the most important industrial centers in northern Syria, as it is a transportation hub and sits on a commercial road linking the areas held by the Autonomous Administration with those of the Syrian government, in addition to opposition-held areas in northern Syria.
The SDF supported by the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS liberated Manbij from ISIS in 2016 following fierce battles.