2 Turkish-backed fighters killed while attempting to infiltrate Manbij: SDF

"These infiltration attempts came after preparatory artillery shelling on the northern villages."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/06/02 18:05

A fighter of the Manbij Military Council (MMC) on the frontline with Turkish backed groups (Photo: MMC).

Syria Manbij Military Council SDF Recep Tayyip Erdogan Manbij Turkey-SDF tensions

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Manbij Military Council (MMC) killed two fighters attempting to infiltrate northern Manbij on Thursday, the SDF's media center said.

According to the SDF, there were at least three infiltration attempts by Turkish-backed rebels.

Also, the MMC's Media Center said on Thursday that the council repelled several infiltration attempts.

"These infiltration attempts came after preparatory artillery shelling on the northern villages, and they are part of the preparatory escalation of a potential Turkish invasion," the SDF said.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to launch a new operation against the SDF in northern Syria.

On Wednesday, Erdogan repeated his threats and said that Turkey is ready to "clean up" Syria's Tal Rifaat and Manbij from "terrorist" groups.

Since the Turkish threats, there has been a significant increase in Turkish shelling in areas in northern Aleppo and northeast Syria.

The MMC, backed by the SDF, liberated the northern Arab majority Syrian city from ISIS with US support in 2016 in one of the bloodiest urban battles against ISIS in Syria.

The US has repeatedly warned Turkey not to launch any new cross-border offensive.

On Thursday, SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi expressed his concerns over Turkish threats "which pose a high risk on northern Syria."