"We are exhausted. We were living in safety and now we don't know where to go," worries Ghazwan in his empty shoe store in the center of Manbij, just 30 kilometers from the Syrian border with Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to launch a military offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Syria, to create a "safe zone", following an operation carried out in 2019.
Turkey has already launched offensives in Syria, the most recent being the launch of a major air and ground assault on Kurdish militias in 2019, after former US President Donald Trump withdrew US troops from the region. .
In recent weeks, Manbij has been gradually deserted and its shops, which are usually teeming with people, are almost empty. To find people from now on, you have to go in front of the food stalls where many inhabitants stock up.
"People buy rice, sugar and milk," explains Hussein Hamdouch, who runs a stall.
Four years ago, Ghazwan was relocated from Idlib governorate in the northwest to escape fierce fighting between Syrian regime forces and factions, before starting a new life in Manbij.
"I left my house four or five times. I'm going to have to move again because I'm afraid for my children," said the 43-year-old.
"The war destroyed me... All we want is stability in our country," he adds.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey launched three military operations in Syria to oust from its borders the Kurdish People's Protection Units, the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it sees as "terrorist".
Any Turkish operation in a densely populated area will lead to mass displacement, analysts warn.
According to the Turkish press, Ankara should not launch an offensive before the end of August or the beginning of September, even if Russia and Iran did not give the green light during a summit which brought together the Turkish, Russian and Iranian this week in Tehran.
Hussein refuses to join those who have fled to Raqa: "displacement is misery", he sighs: "Where would we go? Might as well die at home".
It is not the first time that Ankara has threatened to launch a military operation in Manbij, an Arab-majority city whose Kurdish fighters expelled the Islamic State (IS) group in 2016.
If Ankara has confirmed its intentions, analysts believe that Turkey will be content with a limited attack or even airstrikes against Kurdish fighters, having failed to obtain a "green light" from Tehran and Moscow for a large-scale attack. wingspan.
"Turkish threats are not new to us in Manbij, but the level of these threats has increased sharply in recent times," said Cherfan Darwich, spokesman for the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council.
- "New tactics" -
The FDS also take preventive measures, in particular by digging trenches on the outskirts of the city, according to an AFP correspondent.
“We formed our troops and our defenses (…) on the basis of our previous war against IS”, explains Mr. Darwich.
Preparing for an attack, the SDF asked Damascus to help them repel a possible Turkish assault, as they had done in previous campaigns.
According to Mr Darwich, the regime forces brought "heavy and high quality weapons".
In the border areas, fighters from the Manbij Military Council were deployed to the rear lines among the olive trees, for fear of possible airstrikes. Syrian flags flutter on the front line.
Syrian soldiers have been pouring in over the past two days, setting up camp in nearby villages.
Hussein, he hopes that this deployment of the Syrian army will succeed in "preventing a war". But Ali Abou Hassan, 50, is not optimistic: "I wish we could have peace, but this (war) is an international game, and we are the victims".
