A rebel fighter carries a boy as civilians and rebels who were evacuated from the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, after an agreement reached on Thursday between rebels and Syria’s army, arrive in the rebel-controlled city of Idlib August 27, 2016. A Syrian rebel commander said that Turkish-backed rebels aim to capture Manbij city from Kurdish-allied forces as conflict between the sides escalated in northern Syria on Sunday. Manbij on the west bank of the Euphrates River was captured this month from Islamic State by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, including the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, in a United States-backed offensive. Colonel Ahmed Osman, head of the Sultan Murad rebel group, told Reuters that the Turkey-backed rebel force was “certainly heading in the direction Manbij” since YPG forces had fortified their positions rather than evacuate. The United States and Turkey have both demanded that the Kurdish forces withdraw […]