VIDEO: Kurdish-led forces urge US to stop Turkish ongoing attacks in Syria
The Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday called on the US administration to support their fighters against the Turkish bombardment on the Syrian northern town of Manbij.
MANBIJ, Syria (Kurdistan24) - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday called on the US administration to support their fighters against the Turkish bombardment on the Syrian northern town of Manbij.
Speaking to Kurdistan24, Colonel Talal Silo, the SDF spokesperson, emphasized their fighters are suffering under the heavy bombardment of the Turkish airstrikes.
"We demand that the US keep its promise of protecting the Manbij Military Council and protecting Manbij and its surrounding areas," he said.
The United States made it clear to Syrian Kurdish forces that they must return to the east of the Euphrates River after controlling Manbij; otherwise they would not have the US support.
Speaking at a press conference in Ankara on August 24, Vice President Joe Biden said, “[Kurdish forces] must move back across the Euphrates River. They cannot — will not — under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.”
After the SDF withdrawal and launching the Raqqa Battle last month, the Turkey-backed Syrian Islamist rebels launched many attacks on the western rural areas of Manbij.
Responding to the Turkish bombardment, the fighters of Manbij Military Council last week blew up four Turkish tanks using advanced weapons in the western vicinity of the town.
YPG, SDF and MMC
SDF, founded in October 2015, is an alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters led by the People's Protection Units (YPG) and backed by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Manbij Military Council (MMC), an SDF ally, is a military division composed of the local fighters of Manbij town and its vicinity under the supervision and support of the SDF.
The SDF and their allied coalition of MMC fighters launched the Manbij operation on May 31 and liberated the town completely on Aug. 12 after a two-month battle.
On Aug. 25, the YPG and SDF brigades withdrew from Manbij to prepare for an offensive to retake the city of Raqqa from Islamic State (IS) insurgents.
Editing by Ava Homa
(Additional reporting by Ekrem Salih from Hasaka)