Defection | Turkish commander in Manbij Military Council escapes, years after joining anti-ISIS ballets in Syria

Reliable sources have informed SOHR that a commander of the SDF-backed Manbij Military Council fled to an unknown destination this morning. According to SOHR sources, the Turkish-born Kurdish commander served as the commander of the artillery and heavy weapons regiment in the Manbij Military Council after he came to Syria to join battles of expelling ISIS from Ain al-Arab (Kobani) in eastern Aleppo. SOHR sources have suggested that the commander may escaped to Turkey.

 

On October 24, reliable SOHR sources confirmed that a Turkish-born Kurdish commander in Syria Democratic Forces fled a day earlier with his bodyguard to Turkey. According to SOHR source, the commander and his bodyguard headed to the Turkish territory from the eastern countryside of Al-Darbasiyyah city where SDF members opened fire on them, attempting to prevent them from leaving Syria. However, the two defectors managed to reach Turkey.

 

While on May 10, 2020, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that it continued monitoring and tracking the issue of SDF Turkish- born commanders’ escape to Turkey. In latest development, SOHR could reveal new details surrounding the killing of a financial official in SDF while attempting to escape to Turkey.

 

The official in question, known by his initials as B, is a Turkish Kurd and serves as a financial official in Syria Democratic Forces. The official was trying to escape to Turkey with large sums of money in his possession by virtue of his post, while another person escorted him.

 

The official planned to cross into Turkey via Jatli village and Qarmani town on the Turkey-Syria border where Turkish vehicles were waiting for him. However, his repeated visits to the area uncovered his plan, as he was tracked by SDF intelligence and shot dead while attempting to escape.