Turkish forces fire shells at Manbij countryside east of Aleppo
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – Turkish forces shelled on Sunday night villages in the northwestern countryside of the city of Manbij, east of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria.
The Turkish forces shelled the villages of al-Yalinli and al-Sayyada from their posts in the village of Sheikh Nasser, 14 km northwest of Manbij, media center of Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) said.
The city of Manbij and its countryside were liberated from ISIS in 2016 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with support of the US-led Global Coalition. It is now being run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS militarily.
The center added that the Turkish forces fired more than 10 mortars and heavy artillery shells at the villages.
At the same time, Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), shelled the village of Umm Jeloud, north of Manbij with medium and heavy weapons, according to the Manbij Military Council.
It indicated that the shelling caused a state of panic and horror among the population because the villages that were shelled are populated.