The Stars and Stripes fluttered above four US armored vehicles driving through drizzle in the Syrian city of Manbij Sunday, each visibly carrying an armed soldier on lookout duty. Almost eight years into Syria’s civil war, a Kurdish-led alliance called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) controls a large swathe of territory in the country’s northeast, including Manbij. Since Friday, Syrian troops have deployed in a crescent in a bid to prevent Kurdish territory around Manbij from falling to Turkish troops and pro-Ankara rebels massing to the northwest. At the closest point, regime forces were stationed less than 500 meters from pro-Turkey opposition fighters, the source said. “We finished the preparations to begin operations to free the city of Manbij from the control of the PKK,” he said, alluding to the Kurdish-led SDF.

Source: Egypt Independent December 31, 2018 09:00 UTC