Syria: Manbij fighting resumes as IS ignores ultimatum

IS militants have clashed with US-backed fighters in Syria's Manbij, as a 48-hour deadline passed for the militants to leave the battleground town.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

23 July, 2016

IS have been accused of using civilians as human shields in Manbij [Getty]

Islamic State group [IS] militants clashed on Saturday with US-backed fighters in Syria's Manbij, as a 48-hour deadline passed for the IS militants to leave the battleground town.

The ultimatum was issued on Thursday by the Manbij Military Council, part of the Arab-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] alliance that is fighting IS with support from a US-led coalition.

"The 48-hour period is over, and there will be no more opportunities like this one for [IS]," a Manbij Military Council said on condition of anonymity.

"We will intensify our attacks on their remaining positions in the town," the commander said, adding that the SDF was working to "secure safe passages" for civilians in Manbij looking to flee.

IS have been accused of using civilians as human shields in Manbij, located in the northern province of Aleppo on IS' main supply route between Syria and Turkey.

The fighting has forced many civilians to flee, and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [SOHR] said about 200 civilians fled the town of Manbij in the morning hours on Friday.


	The fighting has forced many civilians to flee [Getty]

The SOHR said on Saturday that at least 15 people were killed and injured in US-led coalition air raids in villages east of Manbij.

Earlier this week, at least 56 civilians were killed - including 11 children - following air raids on the Manbij area by US-led coalition warplanes.

Manbij is an IS hub and lies on a key supply route to the group's de facto capital of Raqqa.

If the city is captured by US-backed fighters, it will be the biggest strategic defeat for IS in Syria since July 2015, when it lost the border town of Tal Abyad.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Chris Garver said on Friday that IS was mounting an exceptionally tough fightback in Manbij.

Fighting has grown more intense as SDF units move into the city, he said, "which is sort of different than what we saw in Ramadi and what we saw in Fallujah," two Iraqi cities from which IS was ousted this year.

"It's a fight like we haven't seen before," said Garver.

He estimated that the SDF had taken back roughly half the city, an area still housing at least 2,000 civilians.

Agencies contributed to this report.