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IPFS News Link • Syria

Syrian Army Deploys to Manbij in New Alliance With Kurds

• https://news.antiwar.com, Jason Ditz

With Turkey's imminent invasion of Kurdish territory in northeastern Syria expected to begin any day, the Kurdish YPG has quickly secured a new alliancewith the Syrian government. Within short order, the Syrian Army has arrived in the city of Manibj, on the Euphrates River, to help with its defense. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that this first deployment is of over 300 Syrian troops, with military spokesmen saying they are to deploy on the city's outskirts with the goal of "defeating all invaders and occupiers." There are US and French troops still within the city of Manbij itself, and Turkish-backed rebels advancing on the city from the north, with the expectation that this will be the first target of the new Turkish invasion. 

US officials confirmed that "dozens" of US troops remain in the city, and have seen no sign of the Syrian forces trying to enter. Though the US is nominally aligned with the Kurds, the withdrawal is coming at the behest of, and in coordination with, Turkey.


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