Manbij is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers west of the Euphrates.
Prior to and in the early years of the Syrian War, Manbij had an ethnically diverse population. The city’s socio-political life was dominated by its main tribes. Tribal leaders served as the mediators and arbiters of major disputes in Manbij, while the state’s security forces largely dealt with petty offenses. The city was relatively liberal compared to other Sunni Muslim-majority cities in the countryside of Aleppo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n