Hundreds flee Daesh-held Manbij as Kurdish forces close in
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A Syrian woman walks carrying her child on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Manbij. (AFP)
Hundreds of civilians have fled Manbij with the help of Kurdish-Arab alliance troops who have surrounded the Daesh-held city in north Syria, says a UK-based monitoring group.
According to Press TV, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday said "Around 600 civilians fled on foot towards areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance south of the town." Director of the observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, added that the SDF troops transported the civilians to safety.
The SDF is an anti-Daesh alliance of Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Turkmen, and mostly Kurdish fighters belonging to the People's Protection Units, also known as the YPG.
US military officials claim the offensive in Manbij is supported by American special operations forces, who are acting as advisers and staying some distance back from the frontline.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been stuck in the city after the US-backed SDF troops laid siege to it on Friday following a major offensive on May 31.
Abdel Rahman noted that those remaining in the city are in constant danger of US-led coalition airstrikes and are also facing food and water shortages as the SDF forces have blocked all roads to and from Manbij.
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