U.S.-backed Syrian fighters in the Manbij area of northern Syria have deployed to frontlines to confront a threatened Turkish assault and are in contact with the U.S.-led coalition over protecting the city, their spokesman said Wednesday.
Turkey has launched an air and ground operation in Afrin in northwest Syria targeting the U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia – seen by Ankara as a threat to its security – and has threatened to extend its operation some 100 km eastwards to Manbij.
Unlike Afrin, Manbij is an area where the United States has military personnel stationed, raising the risk of possible confrontation between the NATO allies amid Turkish fury over U.S. support for the YPG militia.
Manbij is bordered to the west by a stretch of territory controlled by Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army groups.