Opposition prepares heavy weapons for Menbij's offensive

Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces said on Saturday (December 29) they were readying to enter the Syrian city of Menbij, after the Assad army said it had deployed its own militias.

Convoys of opposition fighters, with armoured vehicles and machine guns, were moving towards the frontline with the city.

The Assad regime said they had sent militias to Menbij on Friday (December 28) after the Kurdish YPG militia asked for protection against what they called the threat of a major Turkish offensive.

Menbij, which US-backed militia captured from ISIS in 2016, has emerged as a focal point of new tensions after US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US forces whose presence has effectively deterred Turkey.