Manbij Revolutionaries Battalion | |
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كتائب ثوار منبج (Arabic) Suwar el-Minbic (Kurdish) Manbij Devrimci Taburları (Turkish) Participant in the Syrian Civil War |
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Flag of the battalion.
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Active | Unknown—present |
Ideology | Democracy |
Leaders |
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Headquarters | Manbij, Aleppo Governorate |
Area of operations | Aleppo Governorate |
Size | 100+ |
Part of | |
Allies | |
Opponents | |
Battles and wars |
The Manbij Revolutionaries Battalion (Arabic: كتائب ثوار منبج, Kurdish: Suwar el-Minbic, Turkish: Manbij Devrimci Taburları) is a Syrian militia that is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces' Manbij Military Council and operates in the Aleppo Governorate. Members of the unit have declared that their primary goal is to drive the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the region, and to establish a democratic, inclusionist Syria.
The exact foundation and origin of the group are known; it first appeared upon the foundation of the Manbij Military Council on 2 April 2016. The group has recruited Syrian Turkmen into its ranks.
Starting from the end of May 2016, the Manbij Revolutionaries Battalion participated in the Manbij offensive.
On 4 February 2017, 100 fighters completed their training at the Martyr Faysal Abu Layla Academy at Manbij, joining the Manbij Revolutionaries Battalion, and by extension, the Manbij Military Council. On 21 February, unidentified gunmen killed five commanders of the unit in the village of Al-Awsajly, west of Manbij.
In early March, as fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Turkish-backed forces escalated in the western Manbij countryside, the SDF made a deal with the Assad government. Accordingly, the SDF handed over a number of villages in the area to the Syrian Army, so that the Turkish forces could no longer attack them. On 6 March 2016, Manbij Revolutionaries Battalion commander Ahmad Arsh appeared in a Russia Today video, dressed like a member of the Syrian Armed Forces and with a Syrian government flag in the background. He claimed to be a commander of the Syrian Border Police, and that he and his men had taken control of the villages in question.