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Syrian War Report – October 24, 2018: US Troops Clash With Turkish-backed Militants Near Manbij

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Troops of the US-led coalition have been clashing with Turkish-backed militants near the Syrian city of Manbij, currently controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to a video, which appeared online this week.

Commenting on the incident to Kurdistan 24, spokesman for the US-led coalition Colonel Sean Ryan admitted that coalition forces “received gunfire from undisclosed persons and returned fire” on October 15, but avoided pointing the finger on Turkish proxy forces. Colonel Ryan added that the incident occured during a joint patrol of the coalition and the Manbij Military Council (MMC). Pro-Kurdish sources were more outspoken putting the blame on Turkish-backed forces and saying that the incident took place near the village of Bughaz.

The MMC is a local entity linked to the SDF. It was established in order to hide the large presence of Kurdish militias in the area. The main reason is that Turkey, a NATO member state and a key US partner in the region, sees Kurdish militias as terrorists and as a major threat to Turkish national security. Washington is employing a wide range of measures, including the rebranding of US-backed Kurdish armed factions, in order to avoid further escalation with Ankara. Nonetheless, US-Turkish tensions over the so-called Kurdish issue remain high. October 15-like incidents are just further confirmation of the deep contradictions between the sides.

Earlier this month, reports from both Kurdish and Turkish sources appeared that the US had started a new round of build up in northwestern Syria, which is occupied by the SDF with its help. Washington reportedly sent an additional batch of weapons and armoured vehicles to SDF units deployed near Manbij and expanded the number of US-led coalition outposts there. These developments came in response to repeated statements by Turkish President Recep Erdogan claiming that his country would kick off a military operation to expel Kurdish armed groups from the area near Manbij and from northern Syria in general.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed artillery strikes on ISIS positions in the area of al-Safa in southern Syria. After the release of six hostages, the terrorist groups sabotaged further talks on the fate of the remaining civilians trapped in its area. So now, the SAA is employing a military option to force ISIS to release over a dozen civilians.

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alex spov

The most blatant criminial racial vilification and incitement to genocide ever captured on camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLdxmeELGbE

Hisham Saber

That’s Talmudic Rabbinical Judaism for ya. Look what they did in the Soviet Union during the Jewish Bolshevik Red Terror Revolution of 1917-1954, killing off an estimated 80 million. . Or the Jewish imposed and enforced famine in the Ukraine in 1936-7, killing off 7 million.

Richard M

So it was US puppets, not US Troops. If I want click-bait headlines I can go to Western MSM propaganda outlets. You disappoint me SF.

Davki

“The Manbij council was formed to hide Kurdish presence…”. What utter rubbish. Everybody knows Kurdish forces make up the bulk of forces there.

purplelibraryguy

Perhaps not “hide” as such, more like “allow for the polite fiction of Kurdish nonpresence”, or “let Erdogan save face if he wants by claiming these aren’t the Kurds he’s looking for”.

Jens Holm

Erdo try to hide his dirty face´well and only many Turks accept this.Outside We know more about Turkey, then Turks do.

Jens Holm

Thats not hidden at all. Everyone knows kurds were the educated soldiers which took back Manbij, and they came from being refugees in Afrin and Kobani. They came back.

The arabs there hardly had any educated soldiers. So the forces there still are dominated by kurds even there are more arabs much better involved. The local barefoot police and the administrarion also is a better mix now.

FSA with Turkish support could take over without them. Its also forgotten, that those at least partly are defende by the Coaliton.

The usual internal crap from AKP. I also see see Saudis just as those scums are – an internal family killing of any family threat.

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