On Wednesday, Brett McGurk tweeted, “Significant #SDF advances towards city center in #Manbij today as #ISIL defenses degrade in what had been a citadel for foreign terrorists.”
Islamic State militants have been pushed and split into three areas in the city centre and the SDF are in control of a major road through the city.
After seizing the road through Manbij, the SDF now control about 350 kilometres of a main route stretching across northern Syria, from the Syria-Iraq border in the al-Hasakah countryside to al-Arima village, 18 kilometres west of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
In an emotional victory, SDF forces retook the Manbij home of their official spokesperson Shervan Derwish.
In a rare personal post on his Facebook page, Derwish shared his thoughts on the war and the liberation of his home, which he and his family fled three years ago.
“I will never forget what my hometown and my home were like before the terrorists,” he said. “So I will always fight terrorists.”
“I cannot talk about my childhood dreams, but I pledge to build a country where children can live in peace and reach their dreams,” he continued.
“But I want to say that I am a fighter. I am not looking for any position. All I want to be is a fighter and fight oppression.”
The SDF have had the city encircled for months after beginning their offensive against ISIS militants in that region in late May. Seizing Manbij from ISIS will further isolate the group’s main stronghold in Syria, the city of Raqqa.
