The Press Liaison Centre of the Manbij Military Council (MMC) announced in a statement on Saturday that the Turkish-backed mercenaries’ attempted to infiltrate a village in the countryside of the city.

The statement said: “After the invaders' attempts to enter the village were foiled, the Turkish army targeted the villages of Dendeniye, Seyade and Um Edese northwest of Manbij with heavy weapons. Citizens' houses and properties were damaged in the attacks.”

Manbij occupies a key strategic position in Turkey's plans

Manbij is located 30 kilometres south of the Turkish border and occupies a key strategic position in Turkey's plans to expand its illegal occupation zone in northern Syria. The city, which is administered by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), is located on the important M4 highway, which runs through northern Syria like a lifeline and was a strategic supply route for ISIS. In addition to the Manbij Military Council, the Enîya Kurdan (Kurdish Front) and the Idlib Revolutionary Brigade are also responsible for the defence of the region.

Since Manbij was named by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the primary target for a new invasion of northern and eastern Syria in 2022, the war of attrition against the city has intensified. There are regular attacks by the Turkish army and allied jihadist militias as well as infiltration attempts, which are mainly directed against civilian settlement areas with the aim of displacing the population. The positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are also repeatedly under attack. The international community ignores Turkey's crimes in its neighbouring country.