Militants from the self-styled "Islamic State" group have clashed with US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the strategically important town of Manbij. An ultimatum to leave appears to have been disregarded by IS.
Syrian Democratic Forces members killed battling IS in Manbij are mourned during a funeral on ThursdayImage: Getty Images/AFP/D. Souleiman
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US-backed forces in the northern Syrian town of Manbij met fierce resistance from "Islamic State" (IS) fighters Saturday as they tried to capture the strategically important outpost. Manbij had been a key stop along the IS supply route from Turkey into its self-styled "caliphate" in Syria.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters backed by the United States, surrounded Manbij a month ago but a bloody IS counter-offensive and concerns about the civilian population have hindered plans to seize control of the town.
On Thursday, the Manbij Military Council, a key member of the SDF, issued an ultimatum to IS fighters, saying they would be allowed to leave the city without a fight if they did so within 48 hours. That deadline had since passed.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Chris Garver said Friday that IS fighters were mounting an particularly tough defense, especially as SDF units pressed deeper into the town. "[It's] sort of different than what we saw in Ramadi and what we saw in Fallujah," he said, referring to two Iraqi cities where IS fighters retreated earlier this year.
In this June 8 image, smoke rises from the city of ManbijImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/ARAB 24
"It's a fight like we haven't seen before," said Garver, adding that the SDF now controlled about half the town, an area home to at least 2,000 civilians. Thousands of civilians had already fled Manbij. More than half Syria's population has been displaced since civil war erupted in 2011.
Civilian deaths reported
The ultimatum from the SDF for IS to leave Manbij came after reports that at least 56 civilians were killed Tuesday in US-led coalition airstrikes near the town. Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 children were among those killed as they fled a nearby village. Similar airstrikes in Manbij on Monday also resulted in civilian casualties, it was reported.
Conflicting information about death tolls in the aftermath of attacks is common in Syria, where many areas are inaccessible to independent media. The opposition Syrian National Coalition had called for airstrikes to be suspended while the incidents were investigated. Human rights group Amnesty International has also called for clarification about civilian casualties in airstrikes suspected to have been carried out by the US-led coalition. The coalition said it had opened an investigation.
Meanwhile, US-led airstrikes have continued. Both the Manbij Military Council and US coalition spokesman Garver have accused IS of using civilians as "human shields."
How the Syrian civil war began - and gave 'Islamic State' room to grow
Although the emergence of "IS" prompted international intervention in Syria, the jihadist group entered the conflict late in the game. DW examines how the war created space for this terrorist group to expand.
Image: AP
The "Arab Spring" effect
In 2011, as regimes crumble across the region, tens of thousands of Syrians take to the streets to protest against corruption, high unemployment and soaring food prices. The Syrian government responds with live ammunition, claiming some 400 lives by May.
Image: dapd
Condemnation without consensus
At the urging of Western countries, the UN Security Council condemns the violent crackdown. The EU and US implement an arms embargo, visa bans and asset freezes in the months that follow. With the backing of the Arab League, calls eventually grow for the Syrian president's departure. But not all UN members agree with this demand.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Szenes
Assad refuses to back down
Bashar al-Assad - who has been in power since the death of his father in 2000 - sees his reputation wane with the continuing unrest. He refuses to end decades-long emergency rule, which allows for surveillance and interrogation. Russia backs its ally, supplying weapons and vetoing UN resolutions on Syria multiple times.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Badawi
The opposition gets organized
By the end of the year, human rights groups and the UN have evidence of human rights abuses. Civilians and military deserters are slowly beginning to organize themselves to fight back against government forces, which have been targeting dissidents. More than 5,000 have died so far in the fighting. It will take another six months before the UN acknowledges that a war is taking place on Syrian soil.
Image: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Outside intervention
In September 2012, Iran confirms that it has fighters on the ground in Syria - a fact long denied by Damascus. The presence of allied troops underscores the hesitance of the US and other Western powers to intervene in the conflict. The US, stung by failed interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, sees dialogue as the only reasonable solution.
Image: AP
Fleeing the conflict
As the death toll nears 100,000, the number of refugees in neighboring countries - such as Turkey and Jordan - hits one million. That number will double by September 2013. The West and the Arab League have seen all attempts at a transitional government fail in the two years of war, watching as fighting spills over into Turkey and Lebanon. They fear Assad will stay in power by any means possible.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
No united front against Assad
Assad has long claimed he's combatting terrorists. But it's not until the second year of war that the fragmented Free Syrian Army is definitely known to include radical extremists. The group Al-Nusra Front pledges allegiance to al Qaeda, further splintering the opposition.
Image: Reuters/A. Abdullah
From brute force to chemical warfare
In June 2013, the White House says it has evidence that Assad has been using sarin nerve gas on civilians - a report later backed by the UN. The discovery pushes US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders toward considering the use of military force. However, Russia's proposal to remove the chemical weapons ultimately wins out.
Image: Reuters
Islamic State emerges
Reports of a new jihadist group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) emerge in the final weeks of 2013. Taking land in northern Syria and Iraq, the group sparks infighting among the opposition, with some 500 dead by early 2014. The unexpected emergence of IS ultimately draws the US, France, Saudi Arabia and other nations into the war.
