Syrian army enters Manbij to block Turkey’s expansionOctober 15, 2019 - 10:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) entered the strategic city of Manbij in northern Aleppo on Monday, October 14 night, a source from the military said, Al-Masdar News reports. According to the military source, the Syrian Arab Army entered Manbij last night after the U.S. troops withdrew from this city to an unknown location in northern Syria. The source said the Syrian Arab Army wanted to quickly deploy to Manbij in order to prevent the Turkish military from launching their large-scale attack on this part of the Aleppo Governorate. While it is still not clear whether or not the Turkish military will attack Manbij, the arrival of the Syrian Arab Army’s troops in the city should give the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a major boost in northeastern Aleppo. Manbij was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces during their large-scale offensive in the Euphrates River Valley region in 2016. The Turkish authorities have repeatedly demanded that the U.S. force the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) to withdraw from Manbij; however, Ankara claims Washington failed to do this. The Turkish military’s Operation Peace Spring was launched at the beginning of October in response to their accusations that the U.S. failed to implement their end of the safe zone agreement from September. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |