Damascus, Syria – The Syrian Ministry of Defense and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) exchanged accusations on Saturday night of launching an attack in the countryside of the city of Manbij, northeast of Aleppo Governorate.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense said that an attack carried out by the SDF in the countryside of the city of Manbij resulted in the injury of four army personnel and three civilians, and described the attack as “irresponsible and its causes are unknown.”
Later, the Information and Communications Department of the Syrian Ministry of Defense said: “At these moments, army units are carrying out precise strikes targeting the sources of fire that (SDF) used to bomb the village of Al-Kayyariyah and its surroundings in the Manbij countryside”.
She added: “Our forces were able to monitor a rocket launcher and a field cannon that were used in the attack in the vicinity of the city of Maskanah, located east of Aleppo Governorate, and the forces were also able to repel an infiltration operation carried out by SDF forces at one of the army’s deployment points in the Manbij countryside near the village of Al-Kayariyah”.
For its part, the Syrian Democratic Forces rejected the statements of the Syrian Ministry of Defense about its points being attacked by the Syrian Democratic Forces, and said in a statement that “our forces are using their right to legitimate defense after the Deir Hafer attacks (…) Undisciplined factions continue their provocation in the contact areas in Deir Hafer.
The SDF stressed the need to respect the truce.
It is noteworthy that the Syrian Democratic Forces signed an agreement with the Syrian government last March to join the Syrian state institutions. The agreement did not specify how it would be integrated with the Syrian army.