page_title: Manbij
section_title: Syrian Civil War
hierarchical_section_title: Manbij / History / Modern era / Syrian Civil War
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. and Turkish soldiers conduct the first-ever combined joint patrol on Nov. 1, 2018, outside Manbij, Syria
context_page_description: Manbij is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics, Manbij had a population of nearly 100,000. The population of Manbij is largely Arab, with Kurdish, Circassian and Chechen minorities. Many of its residents practice Naqshbandi Sufism.
  On the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city was first captured by rebels in 2012, overrun by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in 2014 and finally captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces in 2016, bringing it into the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Since 2018, after an agreement with the SDF, the Syrian Arab Army has been deployed on the city's periphery as a buffer between the Turkish occupation of Northern Syria and the AANES.
context_section_description: Prior to and in the early years of the Syrian Civil War, Manbij had an ethnically diverse population of Arab, Kurdish and Circassian Sunni Muslims, many of whom followed the Naqshbandi Sufi order. The city's socio-political life was dominated by its main tribes. Tribal leaders served as the mediators and arbiters of major disputes in Manbij, while the state's security forces largely dealt with petty offenses. The city was relatively liberal compared to other Sunni Muslim-majority cities in the countryside of Aleppo.
  During the civil war, on 20 July 2012, Manbij fell to local rebel forces who thereafter administered the city. ln December, there was an election to appoint a local council. In January 2014, forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the city after ousting the rebels. The city has since become a hub for trading in looted artifacts and archaeological digging equipment. In June 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an offensive to capture Manbij, and by June 8 had fully encircled the city. On 12 August the SDF had established full control over Manbij after a two-month battle.
  By 15 August, thousands of previously displaced citizens of Manbij were reported returning. On 19 August 2016, the Manbij Military Council issued a written statement announcing it had taken over the security of Manbij city center and villages from the SDF, of which it is a component.
  Today Manbij is self-administered by the Manbij City Council, co-chaired by Sheikh Farouk al-Mashi and Salih Haji Mohammed, as part of Shahba region within the de facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava framework. While public administration including public schools has regained secular normalcy after the ISIL episode, a reconciliation committee to overcome rifts created by the civil war was formed, and international humanitarian aid has been delivered, the democratic confederalist political program of Rojava is driving political and societal transformations in terms of direct democracy and gender equality. Reconstruction after devastations of civil war combat remains a major challenge.
  Until October 2019, when US and other Western forces withdrew from northern Syria, Manbij was also a hub for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve training of new SDF recruits in the fight against ISIL and other Islamist militias in Syria. On 26 February, the United States announced its support for the security of the Manbij Military Council. The United States also reportedly sent special forces and several military convoys to Manbij after the announcement.
  On 12 March 2017, the Legislative Assembly of Manbij approved the elected co-presidents who then took office. During the meeting the departments of the committee members, co-presidents and committees were determined after speeches and evaluations. 13 committees where determined. The 13 new committees include 71 Arabs, 43 Kurds, 10 Turkmen, 8 Circassians, an Armenian and a Chechen.
  On 1 November 2018, Turkish and US troops began joint patrols around Manbij along the front lines of the Euphrates Shield rebel territory and the Manbij Military Council. The joint patrols were seen as part of a "roadmap" for easing tensions between militants in the region and tensions between the two NATO allies.
  On 28 December 2018, the Syrian government's media said the Syrian Army had entered Manbij, a claim that was disputed by other sources, which reported that Syrian troops had deployed in the area around the city.
  On 15 January 2019, a suicide attack in Manbij claimed by ISIL left at least 19 casualties. Among them, four U.S. military personnel were reported dead and three wounded. Two of the dead were U.S. Army soldiers, one was a U.S. Department of Defense civilian working in support of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and one was an employee of Valiant Integrated Services, a contractor supporting American operations.
  During the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, following the withdraw of US and other Western troops from northern Syria, the Syrian Arab Ar
caption: American and Turkish soldiers conduct patrols on the outskirts of Manbij, November 1, 2018
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