Battle for Syria's Manbij may redraw local alliances

GAZIANTEP, Turkey — The battle launched May 31 to liberate the city of Manbij in northern Syria has progressed at an accelerated pace. The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) achieved noticeable progress against the Islamic State (IS) on the ground in the span of a few short weeks, aided by support from international coalition warplanes and the participation of US military consultants. These forces were thus able to liberate all of Manbij’s countryside, its western gate, silos, grain mills and the Assadiyeh neighborhood that is considered the gate to Manbij, barely one month after operations began.

By June 28, the SDF had gained control of one-third of the city, after the liberation of the traffic police building, southwest Manbij.

Manbij is only 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Turkish border and 80 kilometers northeast of Aleppo. Before the latest conflict erupted, it was home to approximately 120,000 people, prior to being overrun by IS on Jan. 23, 2014. With the liberation of Manbij now, IS is losing the only strategic gateway linking its areas of control in Syria and Iraq with the Turkish border, which serves as the main route for jihadis arriving from European countries and other parts of the world. The border crossings between Syria and Turkey represent an important aspect of IS’ capability to ferry fighters, weapons and supplies from and to its areas of influence inside Syria and Iraq.

Concerning the conduct of military operations in Manbij and its environs, the official spokesman for the SDF Manbij military council, Cherfan Darwish, told Al-Monitor that SDF forces were successfully advancing toward the city and tightening the noose around IS militants inside. “Our forces have encircled the city from all sides and cut off all lines of communication and supplies. We are tightening the noose around them,” he said.