MANBIJ, Syria — The Manbij Military Council has again called for the return home of Manbij residents fighting with Turkish-backed Syrian opposition factions in the areas of seized in Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, requesting that they stop furthering Turkey's occupation of Syrian territory.
In a Feb. 3 statement posted online, the council’s General Command, asserted, “It is necessary to assume our moral responsibility by warning our citizens against the manipulation and exploitation practiced by the Turkish occupation state in the areas of Euphrates Shield and other Syrian-occupied areas by perpetuating a mercenary culture and forcing the country’s citizens into terrorist military organizations that only serve Ottoman expansionist, nationalistic interests.”
