U.S. troops deployed in Manbij to "deter skirmishes between parties"March 7, 2017 - 12:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. military has deployed a small number of forces in and around Manbij, Syria, to "deter" different parties from attacking each other and ensure that all groups focus on the fight against Islamic State militants, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, March 6, according to the Voice of America. Navy Captain Jeff Davis told reporters that this effort was a new kind of "reassurance and deterrence" mission that started last week. “We want to have a visible show that we are there in order to deter all parties from fighting anybody other than ISIS and to reassure that ISIS has been driven from Manbij,” Davis said, using an acronym for the Islamic State militant group. "Manbij is liberated,and there's no need for further fighting there,” he added. The U.S. troops are not carrying out an offensive operation in Manbij but do have the ability to defend themselves if attacked, Davis said. The troops include both U.S. special operations forces and conventional forces operating under the special operations task force. 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 | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |