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PHOTOS of Syrian Gov't Troops Deployed Along Manbij Border Released

The city of Manbij in the northern province of Aleppo has switched hands three times since the civil war began in 2011. With US troops leaving and Turkey concentrating forces at the border, the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which controls the area now, has invited Syrian government forces to the city.
Sputnik

Syrian troops have been stationed along the western border of the region of Manbij in Aleppo province, a Sputnik correspondent has reported.

Syrian Armed Forces Deployed Along Manbij Border, Aleppo Province, 30 December, 2018


Syrian flags have been raised over buildings in the area close to the district's northern border, with the army boosting its presence there.

Syrian Armed Forces Deployed Along Manbij Border, Aleppo Province, 30 December, 2018

 

According to Sputnik’s reporter, citing a source on the ground, they are there to prevent an advance of Turkish-aligned Euphrates Shield forces on the city of Manbij

Syrian Armed Forces Deployed Along Manbij Border, Aleppo Province, 30 December, 2018

It has been controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish People's Protection Units' YPG, since Daesh* was cornered there in 2016.

Syrian Armed Forces Deployed Along Manbij Border, Aleppo Province, 30 December, 2018

Amid the withdrawal of US troops from positions near their Kurdish allies in Syria, and Turkish plans to launch an operation there against the Kurdish militias, whom Ankara regards as terrorists, the Syrian army has received an appeal from the YPG to enter the territory and assume control over the city.

Syrian Armed Forces Deployed Along Manbij Border, Aleppo Province, 30 December, 2018

READ MORE: Manbij Deal a ‘Gateway to Rapprochement’ Between Kurds and Damascus

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Ankara was ready to launch a new offensive against the Kurdish militia in the northern Syrian region earlier in December; however, he later said that the operation had been postponed following a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump.

Nevertheless, the Anadolu news agency reported on 29 December that Turkish howitzers, tanks and other heavy military vehicles had arrived in the country's south-eastern province of Sanliurfa, bordering northern Syria.

*Daesh (IS/ISIS/ISIl/Islamic State) and Taliban — terrorist groups banned in Russia

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