Additional US Military Forces Arrive in Kurdish-Held Manbij District

The US Military confirmed on March 4 that American troops deployed to the Syrian Democratic Forces-controlled city of Manbij in northern Syria following a series of nearby clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and US-backed SDF forces.

Videos of the arrival of American troops to the northern countryside of Manbij first emerged on March 3 amid ongoing clashes between Syrian rebels and SDF forces in the villages of Tel Turien and Jablah al-Hamrah in the Manbij countryside.

Syrian opposition media said that the convoy involved at least seven armored vehicles, as well as a number of Humvees and an unknown number of American special forces. Kurdish media reports said that the deployment of American forces is meant to ameliorate concerns recently expressed by the Kurdish Manbij Military Council of additional attacks emanating from Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups in the area.

Colonel John Dorrian issued an official statement on March 4, “[Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve] has taken this deliberate action to reassure coalition [members and] partner forces, [and] deter aggression and keep focus on defeating ISIS.” He further explained that US forces have been operational in the Manbij District since June 2016, when the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), who are much despised by the Turkish military, withdrew from the area.

Furthermore, the provision of additional US forces to the area intends to reinforce recent territorial negotiations made between the Manbij Military Council and the Syrian regime which gives forces loyal to the Assad regime all territory west of the city in order to establish a buffer zone to deter additional attacks from Turkish-backed rebels. Credit: Youtube/1. SMART News Agency/2. Manbij Military Council via Storyful