The Manbij Military Council thanked all the forces that took part in the liberation operation for Manbij and handed the city over to the Manbij Civilian Council. The Military Council declared that the operations will continue into the rural areas to the south and east of Manbij.

Manbij Military Council held a press conference to detail the results of the 75 day long Martyr Commander Faysal Ebu Leyla Operation. The conference was attended by the Manbij Military Council Command Council, Manbij Civilian Council Co-chairs and Martyr Commander Abu Leyla’s family. The statement was read by the Manbij Military Council General Commander Abû Emced.

The statement said no direct solution has been developed for the crisis in Syria and the threat against the Syrian society continues, and continued:

“This threat has pushed the society away from moral values, and has turned the country into a tangle of pain and suffering.

The Manbij and rural areas liberation operation was launched by our Military Council to bury the insolubility and the desperation imposed upon our peoples into history. And thus, the common enemy, the terrorists of ISIS who have posed a threat to all of humanity have been left breathless in their “stronghold”. Manbij had acted as a center for the gang members coming from all over the world and the region.

Manbij has been liberated with 75 days of resistance, heroism, efforts and martyrdoms. During these 75 days, the most precious women and men of this people, including Martyr Commander Abu Leyla, have marched into immortality and become unique symbols of our resistance.

We have liberated Manbij with Abu Leyla’s epic resistance. Manbij is now the symbol of peaceful coexistence between all cultures and social groups, and has become a preview of the democratic, free and egalitarian future Syria. Our operation will continue until all regions under ISIS invasion are liberated.”

The statement continues:

“We salute the international coalition led by the US who have supported us in the operation to liberate our people and contributed to our victory against ISIS.

We thank the Democratic Syria Forces (SDF) who have paid a great price in the building of the joint motherland, without hesitation and have never held back support from us.

We salute the Rojava Asayish forces who have stood with us with their courageous and honorable stance to liberate our people.

We salute the Êzidî women fighters who have stood with our people in the war for liberation and have become an epic. There is nothing more valuable than the dignified stance of the Êzidî women fighters. They have stood against ISIS in the war to liberate Manbij people. The concrete example of this is the effective actions carried out by Commander Koçber against the gangs.

We thank the Yekîneyên Berxwedaniya Şengalê (Shengal Resistance Units, YBŞ). They have joined the Manbij resistance and displayed and taught the fraternity of peoples despite all the suffering and hardship endured by the Shengali people.

We are also grateful for the support of Hêzên Erkaparsatinê, Hêzên Parastina Civakî (Social Defense Forces, HPC) and the forces responsible for the security of the borders.

We salute the Internationalist fighters who have joined the operation to rid the region of ISIS gangs, the enemies of humanity, and were martyred. We have respect and gratitude for the Internationalist fighters martyred in the Manbij operation.

We thank the Kobanê Canton administration and people who have shared their bread and the suffering with the people of Manbij.

We thank the people of Manbij who have never left the fighters alone and have always shown support. Especially the women of Manbij have played an important role in protecting their authentic values and with their resistance and struggle. This operation has also been the liberation for the resisting women of Manbij.

We want to take this opportunity to make a call for the people of Manbij with their Kurdish, Arab, Circassian, Turkmen and Armenian identities who have migrated to Kobanê, Cizîr, Turkey and Iraq to return to their free city, and join the rebuilding and administration efforts in Manbij.

We as the Manbij Military Council are handing over the current administration of Manbij to the Manbij Civilian Council. We call on all patriots and all libertarians to take part in the city administration. We pledge to do whatever is necessary to this end.

Our Military Council will continue to protect the city and the rural areas against danger. In this sense, we call on the SDF to support us in the mission for defense. Protecting Manbij and its rural areas will be a priority duty for our Council.

Manbij and some rural parts have been liberated. But there are still dozens of villages to the south and east of Manbij where the gangs have positioned themselves in, and that is a wide area. Thus, we declare that the Martyr Commander Faysal Abu Leyla Operation will continue until all the ISIS gangs are expelled from the whole of our region. We can not abandon our sisters and brothers to live under the atrocities of ISIS.

At this point, we will continue our operation without a break in the rural areas of Manbij. We will continue to deal blow after blow on the ISIS gangs and march towards the building of a democratic and free Syria.”