The Syrian army said it entered Manbij, a city in north-east of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, on Friday for the first time in years, after the Kurdish YPG militia urged Damascus to protect the town from the threat of Turkish attacks. It was unclear whether the government forces had spread out in the town, where U.S. forces operate and have a military base. With the YPG at its forefront, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) seized Manbij in 2016 from Islamic State, a milestone in the U.S.-backed battle against the jihadists.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 28, 2018 10:41 UTC