Syrian opposition has high hopes for US-Turkish road map for Manbij
The US-Turkish road map for Manbij has entered the second of three phases, leading some to believe it might spare the area further bloodshed.
ALEPPO, Syria — The Turkish army started the second round of patrols in Manbij, in the northeastern Aleppo countryside, on June 20, two days after implementation of phase 2 of a US-Turkish road map for the city. The United States and Turkey had agreed on June 4 to a plan to jointly manage security and stability in three phases in Manbij, which is under the control of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
According to the US-Turkish road map, the SDF's Manbij Military Council, established in April 2016 after the expulsion of Islamic State (IS) fighters, would remain in place on the condition that all members of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main component of the SDF, leave the council. Turkey considers the YPG to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey and continues its insurgency against Ankara for Kurdish rights.
The United States insisted that the YPG withdraw from Manbij to avoid an assault on the city by Turkey and the FSA. Turkey and the FSA also view the YPG as posing a threat in the areas under its control in Aleppo countryside, the areas of Operation Euphrates Shield (August 2017-March 2018), including Afrin.
The strategic city of Manbij lies nine miles west of the Euphrates River and currently is surrounded by areas controlled variously by the regime, the YPG and the FSA. The YPG had turned it into an oil transport and distribution hub after taking control of it. Manbij is one of the largest cities in the Aleppo countryside in terms of area and prewar population.
