Speaking to Ronahi TV, SDF Press Officer Ferhat Shami said that the Turkish state and its gangs have been carrying out heavy attacks on the Manbij Canton for the last 12 days and added: "The Turkish state and its gangs have not stopped their attacks on the villages of northern, southern and western Manbij for 12 days. Today, the people of Manbij celebrated the collapse of the Baath regime. Some gang cells, taking advantage of this, tried to occupy the city by distributing weapons to the people. As a result, clashes between the Manbij Military Council, Bab Military Council and Jabhat al-Akrad and the gangs have started and continue."

Referring to the social media accounts close to the gangs and the news made by the mainstream media organizations in Turkey according to which "Manbij has fallen", Ferhat Shami said: "Occupying Manbij is not that easy. The Manbij Military Council, Bab Military Council and Jabhat al-Akrad fighters are in control of the situation. The security forces are responding to the gangs with great determination. There are clashes, but we are in control. There are many tactics in war. Sometimes you pull back to draw the enemy into mistakes. This is what is happening in Manbij right now and what the gangs did not count on. This tactic was implemented by the Manbij Military Council, Bab Military Council and Jabhat al-Akrad. Many gangs have been killed. There are also clashes in some villages located in the southern countryside of Manbij. The occupying Turkish state is supporting the gangs from the air and bombing the region. Manbij will be a grave for the gangs. Manbij is not a city that the gangs can easily take."

Only trust official statements

Drawing attention to the fact that fake news is being circulated through the media within the framework of a special war, Ferhat Shami said: "When a war starts, it starts from many directions. Attacks on Manbij are not the first. Since Manbij was cleared of ISIS by the SDF, the occupying Turkish state has not stopped its attacks. Manbij knows well who brings peace. We have also encountered the same situation in Raqqa, Tabqa and other regions. Everyone should wait for official statements to be made. The settlement of gangs in a neighborhood does not mean that the war has ended. If the gangs had not suffered heavy blows, the warplanes of the occupying Turkish state would not have intervened. We will share news about what happened.

The Syrian army was a large army, and it was destroyed in a few days. We are heroically resisting all attacks. Some cells may emerge in other cities of ours, and they may want to create chaos. As the SDF, we are giving our people the authority to be sensitive to this and to intervene by developing initiatives. No one has the right to create chaos in our cities. This is a war of existence. Everyone must defend the cities against the occupying Turkish state's desire to occupy our cities and not fall into the gangs' game."