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Syrian army reinforced close to front with Turkish-backed forces

Syrian government troops backed by Russian forces have sent extra troops towards the city of Manbij in coordination with the militia that controls it, a militia spokesman said, as Turkish-backed Syrian rebels said they were preparing to attack it.

 

The deployment was coordinated with the US-backed militia in Manbij, the spokesman for the Manbij Military Council said. It is part of the wider buildup of forces in the area.

 

"The battle will soon start," Major Youssef Hamoud, spokesman for the National Army, the main Turkish-backed rebel force in the area, told Reuters. "What we see on the front now is reinforcements to all forces to reach full preparedness for the battle."

 

US President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw US troops from Syria has triggered alarm among the largely Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

 

They have partnered with Washington in the war against Islamic State and now fear the US move will open the way for Turkey to launch a long-threatened attack against them.

 

"The Russian army has restored the Syrian-Russian coordination centre to Arima village to the west of Manbij city, after its withdrawal from there a while ago," said Sharfan Darwish, the spokesman for the Manbij Military Council.

 

Manbij was seized in 2016 from Islamic State by Syrian militia allied to the SDF, which control roughly a quarter of Syria. Its capture was a milestone in the US-backed campaign against Islamic State.

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.25.18, 21:17