Then they also lived under two years of ISIS rule from 2014-2016, when forces under the command of Faisal Abu Layla liberated the city.
Now with ISIS gone, they worry over the next conflict, which in part, has already begun despite US and Turkish diplomats working on a road map.
The US-led international anti-ISIS coalition assists local Syrian Democratic Forces and the Manbij Military Council in providing security.
There is a large US and French troop build-up in the city west of the Euphrates.
SDF fighters explain that US tanks come under attack during the night time.
"When they are fired at, they contact the Turkish forces asking them to stop," one SDF fighter told Rudaw.
If diplomacy fails, locals seem ready to defend themselves against the Turkish army and their Free Syrian Army fighters.
"The matter is not that the number of threats has increased or decreased. We are on the frontline in Sajur standing against Turkish-supported Euphrates Shield. We are geared up to repel any attack staged by Turkey or the Euphrates Shield forces," Abu Hassin a military commander in Manbij said.
Still the locals spend their lives as normal as possible. Some believe Turkey once again is trying to drag their city into an unwanted war.
"Our life has improved and psychology is mitigated. Everything is better than the past. But these threats have largely added to the deteriorating situation. Some people now ponder fleeing the city," said Mahmood Dubash.
