Yesterday's hasty report ended on this note:
All of Manbij has not been taken. I'm not even certain that it has
been entered, properly. Though it's very clear SAA is outside of Manbij,
as they have been for at least two years now. French forces are still
present. Undoubtedly Americans are as well.
Which suggests to us the Usrael Kurds are still in place. This is not
over yet. And might take a turn for the worse, though I hope that is
not the case.
It also seems to me there are plenty of wild claims being made..
Yes, I'm aware of the news from SANA... however that could be for domestic consumption. It's just too up in the air to tell at this point. Keep in mind that this could turn bad very quickly.
I also have to question the narrative presented by some that SAA and the Usrael backed Kurds are sudden allies and working together? This is strange. Very strange, really. Especially when juxtaposed with the narrative regarding Turkey.
Usreal backed Kurds stole 1/3 of Syria. They have prime agricultural land. Most of the water. And most of the oil. They have had a hand in untold death/destruction/displacement in Syria and yet.... they are presented positively. The USrael backed Kurds have allowed for an entire military infrastructure to be installed/constructed/fortified etc., in Syria by the US.
Turkey has played a role in the destabilization, but, not equal to that of the Usrael backed Kurds. .....
So what's with the perception managing narrative?
Mixed reports are coming from the city of
Manbij in northern Syria, which has been a target for both Turkey and
the Syrian regime for months now.
The Syrian Army Says It Has Entered the City of Manbij?
The Syrian regime’s army says it has
entered the city of Manbij, according to state media, after the
country’s main Kurdish armed group invited government forces to take
control of the northern area and protect it from a threatened Turkish
offensive.
On Friday, the State-run SANA
news agency said that stemming from the complete commitment of the
Syrian Army in assuming its responsibilities to impose sovereignty over
each inch of the Syrian territory and in response to the calls of locals
in Manbij city, the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces
announced the entry of the Syrian Arab Army to Manbij city and the
hoisting of the Syrian Arab flag.
However, an Al Jazeera reporter
from Gaziantep on the Turkish border, said residents of Manbij, which
lies 30km south of the Turkish border, dispute the Syrian army’s claim.
“Manbij residents who we spoken to have
said that they have not seen any sign of Syrian forces in their city but
we know that Syrian government troops have already been on the
outskirts of the city, where they were part of the International
Coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS),” he said.
I mentioned the fact that SAA has been stationed outside of Manbij for two years now..
Recently at Syper. And again for my readers.. (as soon as it can be found)
BBC March 2017:
On Thursday, the Manbij Military Council said in a statement that
defending the town and countering Turkey's "invasion plan" were among
its objectives.
It had therefore "agreed with Russia to hand over
villages on the frontline with Euphrates Shield... to the border guards
of the Syrian state", the statement added.
Atlantic Council
the Manbij Military Council, working through Russia and the Syrian
regime, seemingly brokered a deal to allow for Syrian regime and Russian
elements to enter towns west of Manbij.
But even these claims are shaky at best- Therefore the entire narrative of SAA being present outside of Manbij is questionable. Now as then.
In addition, a resident of Manbij who spoke to The Associated Press from the town on condition of anonymity said there was no sign of government troops.
The Turkish-Backed “National Army” Refutes the Government’s Story
Major Yousef Hammoud, the military
spokesman for the National Army has denied the entry of the regime’s
forces into the city of Manbij, accusing the regime of lying.
What happened, he said in a statement to Orient.net,
was that the regime had brought military reinforcements the area of
al-Taeh, which is already under regime control, and about 16 km away
from Manbij. Inside the city, the Syrian regime flag was raised by some PKK members on one official building, Hammoud explained.
SDF Deny Reports About Their Support for the Entry of the Syrian Army to Manbij
The spokesperson for the Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF), Cihan Ahmed, denied media reports attributed to
them welcoming the entry of the Syrian army to Manbij.
Media reports had said earlier that the
SDF support the entry of the Syrian regime’s army to Manbij in order to
maintain Syria, and attributed this position to the SDF spokesperson
Cihan Ahmed.
“We support the entry of the Syrian army into Manbij, in order to preserve Syria,” Ahmed was quoted as saying.
Ahmad, however, denied unequivocally in a statement to Russia Today these media reports and said that the reports are “totally untrue”.
The Turkish Army and Its Syrian Opposition Allies Are Moving Towards the City
On Friday, the
main Turkish-backed Syrian rebel force said that its convoys, along with
Turkish forces, were moving towards the frontlines with the Syrian town
of Manbij, in “full readiness… to start military operations to liberate
the town,” according to The Daily Star.
“In the current situation, we are still
supporting the integrity of Syrian soil. These areas belong to Syria.
Once the terrorist organizations leave the area, we will have nothing
left to do there,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after
Friday prayers in Istanbul.
“It’s not just about Manbij, we are
aiming to wipe out all terrorist organizations in the region. Our main
goal is that the YPG learns the necessary lesson here,” Erdogan said.
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