Kurdistan24 EXCLUSIVE: Manbij civilians rejoice liberation of city center

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Civilians in the northern Syrian city of Manbij rejoiced and expressed their happiness after their liberation from the Islamic State (IS) on Friday.

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Manbij Military Council (MMC) liberated the city center of Manbij, rescuing over 2,000 civilians that insurgents were using as “human shields.”

“The city is now fully under our control, but we are undertaking sweeping operations,” Sharfan Darwish, the spokesperson of SDF-allied MMC told Reuters.

Darwish mentioned that IS abducted about 2,000 civilians from the neighborhood of al-Sirb in Manbij while withdrawing to the city of Jarabulus located on the Syria-Turkey border.

After the liberation of Manbij’s city center, civilians celebrated and expressed their happiness in different ways. Men cut their beards and women burned their full-covered black clothing that they were forced to wear by IS militants.

The SDF and MMC fighters launched the Manbij military operation against jihadists on May 3.

Ekram Salih was one of the Kurdistan24 reporters among the SDF and MMC. He reported about the advance of both forces during the liberation of Manbij from IS.

“IS militants have burnt many shops in the al-Sirb neighborhood,” Salih said. “They have planted many improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the area.”

An SDF fighter, whose name was not mentioned, told Kurdistan24 that jihadists had killed civilians who tried to flee from the neighborhood.

“IS has no generosity. They tortured, executed and beheaded people regardless of their age,” Ali Hassan, a rescued civilian, told Kurdistan24.

IS enforces strict laws on the people under its control, claiming they follow the Sharia Law (Islamic Law).

Jihadists force women to wear full-covered black clothing and ban people from smoking, drinking alcohol, and watching football matches, among many other strict laws.

There are also severe consequences for those who violate these laws including torture or death.

Recently, US Presidential Special Envoy Brett McGurk stated that IS militants had lost the morale of fighting.

According to McGurk, the group continues to lose territory, having already lost 50 percent in Iraq and 20 percent in Syria.

The video below shows more in depth footage of the liberation:

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Ekrem Salih contributed to this report from Manbij)