SDF official: US set up base in Syria's Manbij after Turkish threats
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MANBIJ - US forces set up a new base in Manbij in northern Syria some three months ago after Turkish threats to march on the town, a US-backed militia official there said on Wednesday.
The new garrison, where a Reuters photographer took pictures this week, also houses French troops, said Sharfan Darwish, spokesman for the Manbij Military Council of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which is spearheaded by the YPG.
US and French forces patrol the front between the SDF and Turkey-backed insurgents, and the base was established shortly after Turkey launched its assault on the Afrin region, Darwish said.
"After the Turkish attack on Afrin and the increase in Turkish threats towards Manbij, coalition forces built the base to monitor and protect the border (between the combatants)," Darwish said.
