[20] Following the capture of Tell Rifaat, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) announced a military campaign targeting Manbij, a strategic city in the eastern Aleppo countryside.

This offensive held particular significance as Manbij represented the final Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled territory west of the Euphrates River, where the group maintained its presence with U.S. military support.

[21] The Dawn of Freedom operations room, a component of the SNA, articulated that while their primary objective remained the removal of the Assad government, they were compelled to engage the SDF due to what they characterized as attacks on opposition-held villages in the Aleppo countryside.

[21] Turkish authorities reportedly rejected Russian-mediated communication attempts with the SDF, maintaining their position that the group represented a Syrian extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had emphasized the operation's connection to national security concerns, specifically citing activities of Kurdish militant groups in Turkey and Syria.

The council also reported that Turkish drone operations occurred approximately twenty times along the Turkish-SDF border region on three different fronts, including towards Manbij and neighboring Al-Bab.

Despite circulation of footage showing SNA military buildups near Manbij, which the MMC claimed included Turkish mercenaries,[25] the SDF leadership dismissed these as dated material, characterizing them as components of an information warfare campaign.

[13] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that SNA gained control other "large neighborhoods in the city" and a partial withdrawal of the MMC to the east of the Euphrates.