Manbij Military Council released a statement about the ongoing Operation Martyr Commander Faysal Abu Leyla to cleanse the Manbij city of ISIS gangs.

The Council underlined that they have given huge efforts for the safety and defense of civilians since the very first day of the military campaign to liberate Manbij.

“In every area liberated by our side, the civilians held captive by the gangs were rescued and transferred to safe areas outside the conflict zone. Around 170 thousand civilians stranded in and around Manbij have been rescued by our forces. ISIS groups have been using civilians as human shields since the beginning of the operation, for which reason we have acted giving utmost priority to the security of civilians.

Since our forces took larger part of the city under their control, the encircled gangs are trying to play with our values by using civilians, our moral value and sensibility, as shields. These civilians who are held captive are calling on us to save them."

Manbij Military Council reported that they provided the gangs an initiative three times for the protection of civilians as a moral duty but these were all rejected, the most recent one declared 5 days ago, and gangs continued their practices like murder and torture against civilians, and kept hiding behind civilians by using them as shields.

The Council emphasised that there is no alternative left but military methods to rescue the civilians held captive by the gangs, adding; "We will launch our final offensive against the terrorist elements in Al-Sirib neighborhood and this will the final phase in the liberation of Manbij."