ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Manbij Military Council has lowered all flags and posters bearing the likeness of Abdullah Ocalan after the withdrawal of the last of the Kurdish YPG forces from the city, an official told Rudaw. “At official institutions, only the Manbij Military Council’s flag is allowed to be hoisted," Mohammed Abu Adil, a commander in the Manbij Military Council (MMC), told Rudaw by phone from Manbij on Saturday evening. He qualified that they will not prevent civilians from flying the flags of their choice. “Civilians are free what to do so and in the past the SDF forces were holding and hoisting Ocalan's slogans and portraits. But now it is changed. People are free raise what they want at their houses. We are not going to force them to remove them,” he said. Ocalan is the jailed leader of the PKK, labeled a terrorist organization by Turkey, Europe, and the US. His political philosophy inspired the Kurdish PYD and the armed YPG in northern Syria where the Kurds have carved out a self-autonomous region during the country’s civil war. The PYD and YPG, however, insist that they are distinct organizations from the PKK. Ankara, on the hand, is convinced the Syrian Kurdish organizations are branches of the PKK and carried out a cross-border military campaign against the YPG in Afrin earlier this year. Turkey then threatened to extend its campaign to Manbij where the US has bases supporting their YPG allies who have led the war against ISIS in northern Syria under the banner of the SDF. The MMC is a local body that was established with the assistance and training of the YPG. American diplomats have engaged in discussions with Turkey in order to prevent clashes. In early June, the two sides endorsed a "road map" outlining steps "to ensure the security and stability of Manbij." The precise details of the road map have not been disclosed, but Turkish officials have said it involves the full withdrawal of Kurdish forces and politicians and the establishment of joint US-Turkey security patrols. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday that the Kurdish forces have 90 days to withdraw. Responding to reports that Turkey also wants the MMC out of the city, Adil insisted they are a local force. “Members of the Manbij Military Council are the people of Manbij, not SDF or YPG,” he said. “The SDF forces left Manbij towards the east of the Euphrates in November 2016 and now those forces securing the city are all from Manbij, including Kurds, Turkmen, and others,” he added. The YPG withdrew the bulk of its forces from Manbij in November 2016. Some remained in an advisory capacity. Those departed the city on June 5. Artillery left in Manbij by the YPG belongs to the MMC, a spokesperson told Rudaw. “We are from Manbij. Why should we go? Where to go? We liberated Manbij from ISIS with the help of the international coalition. Those forces present in Manbij are the US-led coalition partners and the Manbij Military Council,” Adil added, rejecting the idea that there is an official agreement for the departure of the MMC. He reiterated that they were not associated with any party or military force and are only running “the military and political affairs of Manbij.”
.webp&w=3840&q=75)
