U.S. forces have underpinned stability in Manbij since Islamic State’s defeat here in 2016. Some 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, it occupies a critical spot in the map of the Syrian conflict, near the junction of three separate blocks of territory that form spheres of Russian, Turkish and – for now – U.S. influence. While U.S. forces have yet to leave, the consequences of Trump’s decision are already playing out in Manbij.
