page_title: Rojava–Islamist conflict
section_title: Manbij offensive
hierarchical_section_title: Rojava–Islamist conflict / The conflict / 2016 / Manbij offensive
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Forces démocratiques syriennes à la fin de la bataille de Raqqa (2017)
context_page_description: The Rojava-Islamist conflict, a major theater in the Syrian Civil War, started after fighting erupted between the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. The YPG launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of al-Hasakah and parts of Raqqa and Aleppo governorates after al-Qaeda in Syria used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurdish groups and their allies' goal was also to capture Kurdish areas from the mainly Arab Islamist rebels, and strengthen the autonomy of the region of Rojava. The Syrian Democratic Forces would go on to take substantial territory from Islamist groups, in particular the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, provoking a strong reaction from Turkey, ruled by the Islamist Justice and Development Party.
context_section_description: On 31 May 2016, the SDF, supported by airstrikes from the US-led coalition, launched an offensive to capture the strategic city of Manbij from ISIL.
caption: SDF fighters during the Battle of Raqqa against the Islamic State in 2017
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