Syrian Army's Presence in Manbij Following Request from Kurdish Militias

Following a request from Kurdish militias to the Syrian government for protection of the city of Manbij against "Turkish threats," the Syrian Army has announced that its forces have been able to enter the city. The Syrian Army's statement noted that its military forces have raised the Syrian flag in Manbij and emphasized that these forces will guarantee the security of "all Syrian citizens and other forces present in the area." However, despite the announcement of the Syrian Army's control over the city, some reports indicate that these forces are not inside the city but have only been stationed in the buffer zone with Turkish-backed rebels. In this regard, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the developments of the civil war in the country from London based on eyewitness reports, stated that the army's forces are only stationed on the outskirts of Manbij and in the buffer zone between Turkish-backed rebels and the city. The Associated Press also quoted a senior Kurdish militia official stating that the Syrian Army has not yet taken control of the city, and their deployment in Manbij is contingent upon the withdrawal of American forces from their military base outside the city. Ilham Ahmed told the news agency that based on an agreement made with the Russians and the Syrian government, if American forces completely withdraw, government forces will take control of the city. Since the Kurdish militias known as the People's Protection Units, supported by the U.S. - including the Syrian Democratic Forces - retook Manbij from ISIS in 2016, the city has been under the control of the Manbij Military Council. Since then, clashes have occurred between these groups and Turkish-backed rebels in the area. Turkey considers the People's Protection Units a threat to its national security and has repeatedly emphasized the need to suppress them. The recent decision by the U.S. President to withdraw 2,000 of his military forces from Syria, who were mainly present in the buffer zone between Kurdish militias and Turkish forces, served as a warning to Kurdish forces that control significant parts of northern and eastern Syria. The People's Protection Units stated that they had previously left the Manbij area to combat ISIS forces in eastern Syria. In a statement released on Friday, they reminded that for this reason, "we asked the Syrian government - to which we belong - to send military forces to take control of these areas and protect Manbij against the Turkish threat."