Forced to migrate to Manbij due to the occupation of their town by ISIS, SNC-affiliated Sultan Murat Brigade, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Jabhat al-Nusra and other gang groups, the people of al-Bab likened the Turkish’s state’s attempt to occupy their town to its operation on Jarablus and al-Rai, and called upon the Bab Military Council to liberate the region.

People of al-Bab spoke to ANF, emphasized the need for a democratic country and free life, and said that Turkey and affiliated gang groups would only bring occupation, oppression, looting and massacres, not freedom or democracy.

After the Manbij Military Council’s liberation of Manbij, people of al-Bab have called upon Bab Military Council to liberate their town from ISIS and SNC affiliated gang groups and emphasized on the need for a democratic country and a free life.

Casim Mihemed from al-Bab stated that they were forced to migrate to Manbij but wanted to return to their land and co-exist with other peoples. Mihemed said “We miss the land we grew up in and want to co-exist with out neighbors,” and reiterated his wish for Bab Military Council to clear his town off of ISIS and SNC gang groups.

Casim Mihemed noted that they were warmly welcomed in Manbij after their forced migration from al-Bab, and that Manbij People’s Council fulfilled their needs in a hospitable manner and a spirit of solidarity until today.

CALL TO SDF FORCES: AL-BAB, THE MOSAIC OF PEOPLES, SHOULD BE LIBERATED

S.E., the father of 5 children who wants to be remain anonymous for security reasons, stated that he and his family had to migrate from al-Bab due to the gang groups’ pressures and migrate to the Osecli village to the west of Manbij.

S.E. noted that they were scared to object to the looting and destruction of ISIS and SNC gangs, and were forced to leave al-Bab and seek refuge in Manbij recently liberated by the Manbij Military Council.

S.E. stated that people of different ethnicities and faiths were partially able to co-exist in al-Bab prior to 2011, but the civil war in Syria ended this co-existence. S.E. described al-Bab as an important mosaic of Arab, Turkmen, Kurdish, Circassian and other peoples, and called upon SDF forces to liberate the town from ISIS and SNC gangs.

S.E. emphasized the responsibilities of SDF as the representative of Syrian peoples, and expressed his belief in the SDF’s establishment of peace that would enable peoples to return to their lands. Lastly, S.E. reiterated the need for SDF forces to cleanse the region of ISIS and SNC gangs.