Turkish Military Intervention In Syria (January 2018–present)
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Operation Olive Branch ( tr, Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the
Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...
and
Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...
(SNA) in the majority-
Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
ish Afrin District of northwest
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, against the People's Protection Units (YPG) of the
Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
(SDF). The air war and use of major artillery ended as the Arab and
Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
militias of the SNA entered the city of Afrin on 18 March 2018, and the SDF insurgency in Northern Aleppo began. Between 395 and 510 civilians were reported killed in the operation. Other reported war crimes include the mutilation of a female corpse by SNA fighters, the killing of civilians due to indiscriminate shelling by Turkish forces, the alleged use of chemical gas by the Turkish Army, and the indiscriminate shooting of refugees fleeing from the conflict area into Turkey by the Gendarmerie General Command. In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, the government issued restrictions on press coverage, with
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
noting that the
Turkish media The mass media in Turkey includes a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing disparate views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. However, media ownership is Concentration of media ownership, concentrated in th ...
was expected to be in "service of the government and its war goals". Hundreds of people were arrested for demonstrating against the operation, and over 800 social media users and nearly 100 politicians and journalists were arrested for criticizing it. Turkish police also arrested numerous leaders and high-ranking members of pro-
Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
ish and left-wing political parties. The use of the term ' olive branch' (a traditional
symbol of peace A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...
) in the operation's name has been criticised as Orwellian and a "mockery". The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
estimates that a total of 300,000
Kurdish people ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
have been displaced. In the aftermath of the conflict, Turkish forces implemented a resettlement policy by moving refugees from Eastern
Ghouta Ghouta ( ar, غُوطَةُ دِمَشْقَ / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is the Arabic term (''gh ...
into the newly-empty homes. Many houses, farms, and other private property belonging to those that fled the conflict have been seized or looted by the SNA. In a study of 24 key informants from Afrin, all reported loss of housing, land or property following Operation Olive Branch. Although Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
said that the operation in Afrin would be followed by a push to the town of Manbij, which the US-backed SDF captured from the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL) in 2016, Turkish forces stopped a few kilometres short of the town.


Background

After Syrian government forces pulled out of Afrin in 2012, Kurdish
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
forces took control of the territory. Afrin managed to maintain trust with both the Syrian government and its neighboring rebel groups. In February 2016, during the latter part of the
Battle of Aleppo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, Syrian government forces cut off the rebel supply route to Aleppo. Subsequently, the SDF moved eastward out of Afrin, and successfully attacked the rebels, capturing the
Menagh Military Airbase Menagh Military Air Base (or Minnigh airport, Minakh Air Base) ( ar, قَاعِدَة مَطَار مِنِّغ, Qāʿidat Maṭār Minniḡ) is a Syrian Air Force installation located south of Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, Syria near the village of ...
and the town of
Tell Rifaat Tell Rifaat ( ar, تل رفعت, Tall Rifʿat, also spelled Tel Rifaat, Tel Rif'at or Tal Rifaat) (Kurdish: Arfêd/ ئارفێد) is a city in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located roughly north of Aleppo, the town is the admin ...
. In response, Turkish forces shelled SDF positions across the border to protect the rebel-held city of
Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.
. In 2017, Russian military troops stationed themselves in Afrin as part of an agreement to protect the YPG from further Turkish attacks. Turkey had been fighting PKK and other groups in
southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and
eastern Turkey The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Se ...
for several decades. The
Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the prese ...
is estimated to have cost 40,000 lives. The
Turkish government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...
has publicly stated that it does not recognize a difference between the Syrian
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
forces and PKK, and says both are terrorist organizations. While the PKK has been designated as a
Foreign Terrorist Organization Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States Secretary of State, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA), to be involved ...
by the United States, the United States' position on the YPG is that it is not a terrorist organization, a stance that has generated much conflict between the two
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
allies. Despite this, the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
named the PYD as the "Syrian wing" of the PKK in its ''
World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...
'' on 23 January 2018. On 14 February, the U.S.
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Commu ...
described YPG as the Syrian wing of PKK in a report. During the early stages of the operation, United States
Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persian ...
noted that Turkey was the only NATO ally with an "active insurgency" within its borders. Mattis acknowledged that Turkey has "legitimate security concerns" regarding PKK, and said Turkey had consulted the United States prior to launching the offensive. The offensive came amid growing tension between the Turkish and American governments over the latter's support of the
Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
, which are made up primarily of Kurdish fighters of the
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
, which Turkey considers to be a branch of the PKK. In particular, Turkey objected to announced plans by the US to train and equip a 30,000 strong SDF border force, which Turkey stated posed a direct threat to their security. "A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders," Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
said in a speech in Ankara. "What can that terror army target but Turkey? Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born." According to media reports with reference to sources in the Syrian Kurdish leadership, shortly before the Turkish incursion, as an alternative option, Russia proposed that the Kurdish authorities in Afrin recognise the Syrian government's control in the region; the proposal was rejected at the time. The Afrin offensive has jeopardized the ''Astana Peace Process'' by placing the major parties—Russia, Iran, and Turkey—on opposing sides of the conflict. According to an Iranian official,
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
has warned
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
that "many parties might want to see Turkey stuck in a quagmire" and has advised that Turkey "try to contain this adventure". Tehran's position is that the Kurdish fighters are not acting independently, but rather are receiving support from multiple sides in the conflict. In the days prior to the offensive, Turkey and the
Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian op ...
exchanged artillery fire with YPG militants along the Turkish-Syrian border near Afrin. The YPG shelled the TFSA-held town of Azaz. The Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported that Russian military observers in the Afrin area began withdrawing on 19 January 2018 in anticipation of a Turkish offensive on YPG positions in Afrin. On 12 February, Turkey's Interior Ministry added the former PYD co-leader
Salih Muslim Muhammad Salih Muslim Muhammad (Kurmanji ku, Salih Muslim Mihemed, ar, صالح مسلم محمد, Ṣāliḥ Muslim Muḥammad) is the co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main party of the Autonomous Administration of North and East ...
to its "wanted terrorists" list along with several new names and offered money for information on his whereabouts. On 25 February, Salih Muslim was detained in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
at Turkey's request. The Turkish Deputy PM Bekir Bozdağ said that Turkey is requesting Muslim's extradition. However a Czech court released Muslim. The Turkish Deputy PM said this was "a move in support of terror".


Composition of forces


Turkey and allied Free Syrian Army

The largest group is between 10,000 and 25,000 Syrian Arab and Turkmen rebel fighters operating under the banner of the
Syrian Interim Government The Syrian Interim Government ''(SIG)'' is an alternative government in Syria, formed by the umbrella opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The interim government indirectly controls some areas ...
and trained and supported by Turkey. The second largest group is 6,400 soldiers from the
Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...
along with armored and air force support.
Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Islamist rebels were also seen fighting alongside the Turkish-backed forces, including
Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...
and
Sham Legion The Sham Legion ( ar, فَيْلَق الشَّام, ''Faylaq al-Shām'') is an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previ ...
. In addition, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' reported that Turkey had a contingent of ex-ISIL fighters within the ranks of its allied military during the assault on Afrin. Several Jihadist fighters among the Turkish-backed forces released a video threatening to cut off the heads of Kurds whom they consider "infidels". A video clip surfaced on the Internet which showed several TFSA Jihadists singing praise of previous battles that they've fought including Tora Bora (former headquarters of
Osama Bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
),
Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...
, and
Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
and then concluding: "And now Afrin is calling to us". The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
also stated that members of the Grey Wolves, a Turkish fascist, ultranationialist extremist organisation, fought alongside the pro-Turkish forces in Afrin.


Democratic Federation of Northern Syria

The DFNS forces include the
Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
(with the Kurdish-led Democratic Union Party’s armed wing the People's Protection Units (YPG), Afrin Region regional defense and police forces. There have been reports that some of the YPG fighters in Afrin were
child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...
. The DFNS was also supported by foreign fighters, including
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i fighters of the Sinjar Alliance, troops of the International Freedom Battalion, and PKK fighters. In addition, Syrian pro-government forces entered the conflict on the side of the DFNS in February 2018. It is not clear how many government loyalists eventually fought in the operation; a YPG commander said that 4,000 militiamen were planned to enter Afrin, though only about 500 were confirmed to have fought alongside the SDF. According to Kurdish officials over 20,000 fighters rallied to defend Afrin. ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' reported that US-backed Kurdish forces received aid from Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
after Kurds requested that
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
send reinforcements to protect Afrin's border. In response to the request, the Syrian government allowed Kurdish fighters, civilians and politicians to enter Afrin, including fighters from Kobani and
Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira (c ...
. For much of the conflict the Syrian government and Kurdish forces have avoided one another; however, in the months leading up to the conflict Damascus began threatening to retake parts of North and Eastern Syria that had been captured by the US-backed SDF and even launched an attack against
Deir al-Zor , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_title = Religions , population_blank2 = ...
, which was met by coalition airstrikes. In late January, there were multiple reports that Western foreign fighters, including Americans, British, and Germans among others, had moved into Afrin to aid its defense against Turkish-led forces. On 12 February 2 foreign fighters, French citizen Olivier François Jean Le Clainche and Spanish citizen Samuel Prada Leon were killed in Afrin. On 24 February,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic activist
Haukur Hilmarsson Haukur Hilmarsson (22 July 1986 – 24 February 2018) was an Icelandic political activist. He played a crucial role in initiating a movement for the rights of refugees in Iceland. He rose to prominence during the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis ...
, who was fighting on the behalf of YPG, was killed in a Turkish airstrike in Afrin. On 9 March 3 Turkish citizen foreign fighters belonging to MLKP were reportedly killed in Afrin. On 15 March, a Briton named
Anna Campbell Anna Montgomery Campbell (1991 – 14 March 2018), also known as Hêlîn Qereçox, was a British feminist, anarchist and prison abolition activist who fought with the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in the Rojava conflict of the Syrian civil ...
was reportedly killed in Afrin. Following the end of open combat and the start of the insurgency, three new groups emerged which said to fight against the pro-Turkish forces in Afrin: The "Afrin Falcons", the "Afrin Liberation Forces", and the "
Wrath of Olives The Wrath of Olives ( ku, Xezeba Zeytûnê, ar, غضب الزيتون, Ghadab al-Zaytun) operations room is an insurgent group that is active in Turkish occupation of northern Syria, Turkish-controlled areas of northern Syria. History The group ...
" operations room; they disavowed any connection to the YPG. The groups openly declared to "liquidate all the traitors dealing with the Turkish occupation". A Middle East security analyst said that these were
front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...
s for the YPG, as the latter was "under pressure from the United States to disassociate itself from the most controversial assassinations in Afrin."


Afrin offensive


Initial TFSA-Turkish advances

The Turkish government announced the start of the offensive on 19 January 2018, with Turkish Defence Minister
Nurettin Canikli Nurettin Canikli (born 15 May 1960) is a Turkish politician, the former Minister of National Defense of Turkey and a Member of Parliament for Giresun under the ruling Justice and Development Party. He previously also served as the Deputy Prime ...
stating, "The operation has actually de facto started with cross-border shelling." He added no troops had crossed into Afrin. Turkey intensified its shelling later, while People's Protection Units (YPG) stated that 70 shells had been fired overnight. On 20 January, after days of shelling, Turkish fighter jets carried out air strikes on the border district targeting positions held by the PYD and YPG groups. Turkish media reported that 20 buses carrying Turkish-backed
Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...
rebels had crossed into Syria through the Öncüpınar border crossing. An AFP photographer stated that 30 buses carrying Syrian fighters had also crossed through the Cilvegözü border crossing. On 20 January, the pro-PYD Hawar News Agency reported that fighters of the
Army of Revolutionaries The Army of Revolutionaries ( ar, جيش الثوار, Jayš al-Thuwwār), or ''Jaysh al-Thuwar'', is a multi-ethnic armed Syrian rebel coalition that is allied with the primarily Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and participating in the ...
in the
Shahba Canton The Shahba Canton ( ku, Kantona Şehba, ar, مقاطعة الشهباء, syc, ܦܠܩܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ, translit=Pelqo d'Shahba) is a political unit of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, in the Aleppo Governorate. The canton w ...
killed 4
Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...
(SNA) fighters and wounded 5 others in a response to the recent mortar and artillery bombardments of civilian areas. YPG forces fired rockets on Turkish border towns
Kilis Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province. History Although there aren't any definite information related to its foundation, today's Kilis mainl ...
and Reyhanli, where at least one civilian was reported killed and a number of others wounded. Turkey announced that its
airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...
s had hit 150 targets in Afrin. The Turkish General Staff made the announcement in a statement published on its website, saying the objective of the mission is to "establish security and stability on our borders and region, to eliminate terrorists of PKK/ KCK/ PYD-
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
and ISIL." On 21 January 2018, Turkish state media reported that Turkish ground forces had begun to move into Afrin. and had advanced up to into the territory. SOHR reported that Turkish troops had clashed with Kurdish militias on the northern and western borders of Afrin and entered the towns of Shankil and Adah Manli to the west. By 22 January 2018, Turkish forces announced the capture of seven villages, although the YPG recaptured two. The same day, the first Turkish soldier was reported killed in the fighting. By 23 January, territorial gains of the pro-Turkish forces were still "limited". Both sides said to have inflicted numerous casualties on each other, including a high-ranking TFSA commander, amid the back-and-forth fighting for several strategic points at the border. Meanwhile, about 5,000 civilians had fled the Turkish advance in the contested areas, relocating into the central areas of Afrin Region. On 27 January, in the first case of a Kurdish suicide attack against Turkish forces, female Kurdish YPJ fighter Zuluh Hemo (a.k.a. "Avesta Habur") reportedly threw a grenade down the turret of a Turkish tank, destroying the tank and killing two Turkish soldiers and herself. The reported attack took place during fighting in the village of al-Hammam. The Turkish military denied that any Turkish soldiers had been killed or injured in the incident, and also said that Hemo blew herself up with a grenade in her mouth. On 28 January, pro-Turkish forces achieved their first major victory by capturing the strategic Barsaya mountain after several previous attacks on the mountain since 22 January failed due to Kurdish resistance. According to Kurdish reports, Kurdish fighters once again pushed back the Turkish-led forces from the mountain the following day, although Turkey disputed this, with Turkish commander Lt. Gen.
İsmail Metin Temel General İsmail Metin Temel (12 March 1958, Adana) is a Turkish Second Army Command former commander. He was the commander of Turkish forces in Syria from 2016 to 2018. Biography İsmail Metin Temel was born in 1958 in Adana. His family settled ...
, who was leading the operation, reportedly visiting Barsaya. At the start of February, some rebel factions fighting on behalf of the Turkish army reportedly withdrew from Afrin in order to fight the Syrian army. On 6 February, a convoy from the eastern parts of SDF-controlled Northern Syria carrying YPG as well as
Yazidi Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The majo ...
YBŞ and YJÊ fighters passed through government-held territory and arrived in the city of Afrin after an agreement for the transfer was approved by Damascus. Their number was unclear, but estimates ranged from 500 to 5,000. There had been reports that the agreement, as well as a recent halt in Turkish airstrikes on the Afrin region, was approved after the Turkish troop deployment in the Aleppo province and the downing of a Russian Su-25 by rebels in the Idlib province, located close to Turkish troops on 3 February. A commander among the pro-Syrian government forces also said that the army had deployed air defenses and anti-aircraft missiles to the front lines near Turkish positions, covering the airspace of northern Syria including Afrin. According to Turkish sources, Russia temporarily closed Syrian airspace to Turkey to establish an electronic defence mechanism against the shoulder-launched missiles since the night of 4 February. According to the report, Turkish armed drones can still operate in Afrin. On 9 February, the Syrian airspace was reopened for Turkish jets. On 10 February, a Turkish
T129 ATAK The TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK is a twin-engine, tandem seat, multi-role, all-weather attack helicopter based on the Agusta A129 Mangusta platform. The T129 was developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in partnership with Leonardo ( ...
attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...
crashed with both crew members being killed. According to Turkish President Erdoğan, the SDF, and SOHR, the helicopter was shot down. The Turkish Prime Minister also confirmed that a helicopter had been downed, while the Turkish military did not give a cause for the crash but stated an investigation was being conducted. The SDF on 17 February claimed a cross-border attack on Turkish forces and its allies in
Kırıkhan Kırıkhan is a town and district in the northeastern part of Hatay Province, Turkey. The name ''Kırıkhan'' means "broken inn" in the Turkish language, perhaps a reference to one of the many lodgings that once lined the road. The town stands at ...
. Turkish media had reported two Turkish soldiers and five Syrian rebels being wounded when a police station was hit by mortar fire in Kırıkhan.


Entry of pro-Syrian government forces

On 19 February,
Syrian Arab News Agency The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) ( ar, الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء (سانا), ) is a Syrian state-controlled news agency, linked to the country's ministry of information. It was established in June 1965. We ...
(SANA) reported that the Syrian government had reached a deal with the YPG in Afrin. Turkish FM Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu responded that they welcomed Syrian forces if they wanted to fight the YPG, stating, "If so, there is no problem. However, if they are entering
frin The phrases "further research is needed" (FRIN), "more research is needed" and other variants are commonly used in research papers. The cliché is so common that it has attracted research, regulation and cultural commentary. Meaning Some resea ...
to protect YPG/PKK, nobody can stop the Turkish army". Nuri Mahmoud, a YPG spokesman, told
Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
that they had called upon pro-Syrian government forces "to preserve a united Syria" but added they hadn't arrived yet. However, a while later, Nuri denied they had reached an agreement with the Syrian government. On 20 February, Turkish President Erdoğan stated that Turkey had thwarted the possible deployment of pro-Syrian government forces into the Afrin area after talks with Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the situation in Afrin could be resolved through direct dialogue between Damascus and Ankara. On the same day, TFSA linked the Bulbul area with Azaz, after capturing the Deir al-Sawan village. Later on 20 February, pro-Syrian government militias calling themselves the "Popular Forces" entered YPG-held Afrin. The Baqir Brigade, part of the Local Defence Forces (LDF) militia network, announced that it would be leading those forces. A convoy of pro-Syrian government troops entered the region to support the YPG, but was hit by Turkish forces, who fired "warning shots". Anadolu Agency stated that pro-Syrian government troops withdrew from Afrin town because of the warning shots. SANA confirmed Turkish artillery involvement but didn't mention any retreat. President Erdoğan said that the militias were repelled by Turkish artillery, adding that the convoy consisted of "terrorists" who acted independently. He also stated, "Unfortunately, these kind of terror organizations take wrong steps with the decisions they take. It is not possible for us to allow this. They will pay a heavy price." Ex-PYD co-chair
Salih Muslim Muhammad Salih Muslim Muhammad (Kurmanji ku, Salih Muslim Mihemed, ar, صالح مسلم محمد, Ṣāliḥ Muslim Muḥammad) is the co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main party of the Autonomous Administration of North and East ...
meanwhile denied any political agreement with the Syrian government, stating the agreement about Afrin was purely military. The Syrian state media on 21 February announced the arrival of more pro-Syrian government forces. A commander of an alliance fighting for the Syrian government stated that pro-government militias in Afrin had retaliated after being attacked by Turkish-backed rebels during the preceding night. By 26 February, the YPG had been pushed back from most of the border with Turkey. During the day, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag announced the deployment of police special forces in Afrin for a new battle. The Turkish government stated on 28 February that the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
' recent Syrian ceasefire resolution didn't cover Afrin, and that Turkey wasn't a part of the Syrian conflict. On the next day, the SOHR reported that Turkish forces and its allies had taken complete control for the border, which was also confirmed by Turkish media. Meanwhile, Turkish forces were fighting to capture the towns of
Jandairis Jindires ( ar, جنديرس, also spelled, Jandairis, Jandires, Jendires, Jendeires, or Jandarus; Kurdish: Cindirês or Cindirêsê) is a town in northern Syria in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate. It is located on the Afrin River, no ...
and Rajo.


Encirclement of Afrin city

The TAF stated on 1 March that eight Turkish soldiers were killed, while 13 were wounded in clashes. SOHR reported that Turkish airstrikes in the village of Jamaa killed 17 pro-government fighters overnight.
Doğan News Agency Doğan is both a masculine Turkish given name and a Turkish surname meaning ''Falcon''. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Doğan Abukay, Turkish experimental physicist and academic * Doğan Akhanlı (1957–2021) Turkish-German wr ...
stated that a Turkish helicopter evacuating wounded had to return when it was hit. 36 militiamen belonging to the NDF were killed in Turkish airstrikes two days later on a camp in Kafr Jina, per SOHR. On 3 March, the Turkish-led forces said they had captured Rajo, one of the major Kurdish strongholds in western Afrin. It was reported that Turkish-led forces quickly breached its defenses and captured it in an hour. However, SOHR reported that the town was still contested, although the TFSA had captured 70 percent of it. The TFSA/TSK also stated the capturing of six villages, including two on the Jinderes district axis, as well as the Bafilyun mountain west of Azaz, making quick gains in recent days. The next day, Rajo was still under heavy Turkish bombardment as the TFSA was attempting to take full control of the town. The SDF confirmed pro-Turkish forces had entered the town and that clashes were continuing during the morning. Later in the day, the SOHR reported large parts of Rajo were captured, while the TFSA had also entered
Shaykh al-Hadid Shaykh al-Hadid ( ar, شيخ الحديد, also spelled Sheikh Hadid, Sheikh El-Hadid) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo near the border with Turkey. Nea ...
. On 5 March, Rajo was confirmed by the SOHR to had been captured by the TFSA. After the capture of Rajo the TFSA also captured the notorious "black prison" near Rajo, which was known to be used by the YPG to jail and torture Kurdish dissents as well as anti-Assad activists and rebels. On 6 March, the SDF announced that it had shifted 1,700 personnel from their frontlines in the Middle Euphrates river valley in Deir ez-Zor to Afrin. Between 8 and 9 March, the Turkish Army, alongside the TFSA, captured
Jandairis Jindires ( ar, جنديرس, also spelled, Jandairis, Jandires, Jendires, Jendeires, or Jandarus; Kurdish: Cindirês or Cindirêsê) is a town in northern Syria in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate. It is located on the Afrin River, no ...
and the Afrin Dam, reaching the outskirts of Afrin on 10 March. On 12 March, Turkish Forces had severed the water supply to the city of Afrin, and also cut off the city's Internet access. By 13 March, Turkish troops announced they had now surrounded the city later confirmed by the UK based human rights group, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
(SOHR). On the next day, seven people were killed in Turkish shelling on Afrin. Between eight and ten pro-government fighters were killed in Turkish airstrikes to the south of Afrin. By then, SDF troops had moved into Afrin from other areas, including retreating troops from the unsuccessful defence of Jinderes, and dozens of international volunteers, reinforcing the troop numbers there, and preparing defences. By Mid March, civilians started arriving in the city, organising themselves as human shields in anticipation of the attack while another 2000 civilians fled the city, in advance of the Turkish troops.


Capture of Afrin city

On 15 March, Turkish artillery bombardment against the city increased, with 12 people killed and 60 injured. Food shortages were reported in the city, with long queues at bakeries. Turkey allowed people to exit the city through the one remaining road, with about 10,000 people exiting the city. Turkey started dropping flyers on the city on 15 March, urging the Kurdish and allied fighters to give up, and asking civilians to stay away from "terrorist" positions. Turkish artillery fire continued on the next day, killing another 16 people. Meanwhile, the YPG claimed a Turkish airstrike hit the main hospital in the city - the only functioning hospital - resulting in 16 civilians dead. The hospital had already been inundated with injured people from the region, fleeing Turkish advances. However, Turkish
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
footage released the next day allegedly showed the hospital intact. On 17 March, Turkish and TFSA forces started their ground attack on the city. They met light resistance and penetrated to the center of the city. Most of the population had left, and rather than engaging the Turkish forces, most of the SDF had retreated, leaving only a small resistance effort behind. On 18 March, TAF forces posted pictures from the center of the city, which appeared to be largely empty. Turkish troops initially shot at, and then removed with a bulldozer, a statue of Kawa, a legendary Kurdish figure, in the center of the town, and raised Turkish flags throughout the city. The city was captured with minimal losses by the TAF and minimal losses by the SDF in their withdrawal. SDF troops had withdrawn to government-held areas, or to SDF areas east of the Euphrates. SDF troops had been ordered to withdraw, though a few minor pockets refused orders and stayed to combat the Turkish forces. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said of the capture: "In the city of Afrin, which was captured by Turkish forces yesterday, scores of civilians have been killed and injured due to airstrikes, ground-based strikes, and explosive hazards, and thousands have been displaced." After the capture of Afrin, which had been deserted by most of its residents, Turkish-backed fighters then began stealing vehicles and goods, looting the homes, businesses, and political and military sites. In response to these events, the Turkish military and allied TFSA units, including the
Syrian Interim Government The Syrian Interim Government ''(SIG)'' is an alternative government in Syria, formed by the umbrella opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The interim government indirectly controls some areas ...
's Military Police, set up checkpoints in front of the city, and arrested several looters. Some battalions of the TFSA's 3rd Corps were disbanded due to their participation in the thefts. The
Levant Front The Levant Front ( ar, الجبهة الشامية, al-Jabhat aš-Šāmiyya, Jabhat al-Shamiyah, also translated as the Sham Front or the Levantine Front) is a Syrian rebel group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was for ...
announced that they dismissed 52 of its members, due to assault on the properties of civilians.


SDF insurgency


Turkish stabilization efforts after the capture of Afrin city

Soon after Afrin city had been captured, Turkey began to consolidate its control over the entire district through a number of policies. The Turkish-backed forces pushed back the Syrian government loyalists: On 21 March, the Turkish Air Force launched airstrikes against pro-government forces located in towns of Kimar and Barad. By the evening, the TFSA had captured the two settlements, advancing within few kilometres from
Nubl Nubl ( ar, نبل, also spelled Nubbul or Nubbol) is a small city in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include al-Zahraa immediately to the south, Anadan to the southe ...
and Al-Zahraa. Furthermore, Turkish President Erdoğan announced that the operation would only achieve its goal by taking
Tell Rifaat Tell Rifaat ( ar, تل رفعت, Tall Rifʿat, also spelled Tel Rifaat, Tel Rif'at or Tal Rifaat) (Kurdish: Arfêd/ ئارفێد) is a city in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located roughly north of Aleppo, the town is the admin ...
, and rebuked a Russian demand to return Afrin to Syrian government control, saying "When the time comes, we will give Afrin to the people of Afrin personally, but the timing of this is up to us, we will determine it, not Mr.
Sergei Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (russian: Сергей Викторович Лавров, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat and politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. Lavrov served as the Permanent Represe ...
." These actions were in line with the Turkish policy to prevent the Syrian government from retaking the Turkish-occupied territories in Syria. Furthermore, Turkey organized a number of local councils to serve as civilian government of Afrin District, with the one for Afrin city composed of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen civilian representatives. Though the Turkish government closely works with these councils, they generally operate as autonomous entities and are supposed to help restoring civil society, as Turkey followed a "hands-off approach to governance and policing". The councils helped to demine Afrin city, as the SDF had left a disputed number of mines behind while leaving the city. One YPG commander said that his troops had not placed any explosives "within cities or residential areas", while TFSA officials estimated that the YPG had left "tens of thousands" of hidden mines behind. The pro-Turkish Afrin Civil Council later stated that mines had killed about 250 civilians in Afrin city by May 2018, though this was not independently verifiable. These efforts meant that Afrin city had been stabilized to some degree by May, with displaced civilians returning and municipal services resuming. With the support of the Turkish government and the stabilization committee, the local council in Afrin was able to fix the engines of Meydanki Dam, and was able to pump water to the desalination plant in the town of Sharran, to provide drinkable water for residents of Afrin and the city of Azaz. Turkey has also implemented more contentious policies, however, as it began to resettle TFSA fighters and refugees from southern Syria into the empty homes that belonged to displaced Kurdish and Yazidi locals. Though some Kurdish militias of the TFSA and the Turkish-backed civilian councils opposed these resettlement policies, most FSA units fully supported them. Many were also critical of the deeply conservative and religious policies of the TFSA units. There were other locals, however, who approved of the new government, considering it less harsh and ideologically charged than the previous PYD government.


YPG guerrilla campaign

A PYD spokesman had already announced shortly after the capture of Afrin city that the SDF would continue to fight the pro-Turkish forces using guerilla tactics. On 4 May, the YPG also declared that they would target the family members of rebel fighters active in Afrin region, as well as refugees that were settled in Afrin. The "
Wrath of Olives The Wrath of Olives ( ku, Xezeba Zeytûnê, ar, غضب الزيتون, Ghadab al-Zaytun) operations room is an insurgent group that is active in Turkish occupation of northern Syria, Turkish-controlled areas of northern Syria. History The group ...
" operation room was established in early summer, 2018. The YPG has denied being affiliated with this group, which has been active all over Turkish-held Syria. By May 2018, an insurgency had broken out in Afrin District, as YPG holdouts and allied militants, calling themselves the "Afrin Falcons", were carrying out bombings, ambushes and assassinations against the Turkish army, the TFSA, and civilian sympathizers. The insurgents were aided in their attempts to destabilize the Turkish-led rule over Afrin by the unrest that still dominated the area. Hostilities remained high between mostly Kurdish natives and largely Arab refugees who had settled in the region after the occupation, while several TFSA groups continued to cause security problems. Despite Turkish attempts to train and disciplined them, these militias sometimes violently clashed with each other and terrorized the local civilians. A TFSA vehicles was seen with portraits of
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
, who had committed a genocide against Iraqi Kurds. Kurds in Afrin said this was an attempt to humiliate suspected PKK members. By mid-2018, the insurgency was mostly focused on the rural areas and Afrin city's outskirts, where Turkish Air Force bombarded YPG holdouts in early May and early July. In early May, the YPG killed the former leader of the Free East Ghouta Police, Jamal al-Zaghloul, whose forces had been tasked with police duties in Afrin after the occupation. He was killed by a mine in al-Basouta, south of Afrin city. Following his death, the YPG stated that "anyone in cooperation with the invasion forces is our target". On August 26, the YPG published a video of the assassination of an
al-Rahman Legion The al-Rahman Legion ( ar, فيلق الرحمن, ''Faylaq al-Raḥmān'') is a Syrian rebel group that operated in Eastern Ghouta, in the outskirts of Damascus, and in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains. It was the main rebel group in Jobar, and w ...
commander, Abu Muhammad Al-Shmali, in Babili. The insurgents also carried out a smaller number of urban bombings in the Turkish occupation zone. On June 27, a twin bombing targeted Afrin's city center which killed nine people, injuring several others, with the Kurdish Afrin Falcons group claiming responsibility, stating that the group has no affiliation with any other Kurdish military or political groups and that its "struggle was independent". Other major bombings occurred in
Jarablus Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies on ...
on 7 July (seven wounded),
al-Bab Al-Bab ( ar, الْبَاب / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a city, ''de jure'' administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of December 2016, the city is under the control of pro-Turkish militias, as part of ...
on 8 July (several killed), and again in Afrin's city center on 22 August (at least one killed). It is not always clear, however, who is responsible for the bombings, with ISIL remnants and Syrian government loyalists also being suspected of carrying out some attacks. By the end of August, 108 rebels and Turkish soldiers were reportedly killed in Kurdish guerrilla attacks. As of early September, attacks were taking place in the forests in the outskirts of Afrin city. By January 2019, about 220 insurgent attacks had been documented since late March 2018 in the Afrin area, most of them carried out by official YPG forces, as well as the Wrath of Olives operations room and Afrin Liberation Forces. The latter had also acquired anti-tank guided missiles. One researcher noted that the rebels might be operating "with the acquiescence" of the Syrian government. On 18 February 2019, a Turkish soldier was killed during "ongoing operational activities" in the Afrin area. In response to the continued insurgency, Turkey and its allied militias launched a military operation against the
Tell Rifaat Subdistrict Tell Rifaat Subdistrict ( ar-at, ناحية تل رفعت, Nāḥiyah Tel Rif'at) is a subdistrict of Azaz District in northwestern Aleppo Governorate of northern Syria. Administrative centre is the town of Tell Rifaat. At the 2004 census, th ...
which was jointly held by the SDF and Syrian government and considered a base for YPG guerrilla attacks. In course of the subsequent clashes on 4 May 2019, pro-Turkish troops initially captured a few villages, but were pushed back by SDF and Syrian government counter-attacks. The operation was then cancelled due to new Turkish-Russian negotiations about the fate of the Tell Rifaat Subdistrict. Frequent insurgent attacks against the TFSA and the Turkish military continued until early August 2019. In October 2019, in retaliation for the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, the YPG attacked a Turkish military outpost in Afrin, and two Turkish soldiers were killed in the mortar attack. Subsequently, starting in early December 2019, sporadic insurgent attacks restarted against Turkish forces in the Afrin region. On April 28, 2020, a bombing in Afrin killed 40 people, including 11 children. No group claimed responsibility. Turkey blamed the
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
for the attack. According to the head of the British-based Observatory for human rights in Syria, at least six pro-Turkish Syrian fighters were among those killed in the blast with a possibility of increase in the death toll. At least 47 people were reported injured, according to
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
. The explosion was believed to have been caused by the rigging of a fuel tanker with hand grenades, the governor of
Hatay province Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of A ...
of the neighboring Turkish border stated. Many people, alongside those who got trapped in their cars were burnt to death as a result of the blast, Syrian activists disclosed.


Aftermath

After the Turkish-led forces captured Afrin District in early 2018, they began to implement a resettlement policy by moving Arab refugees from southern Syria into the empty homes that belonged to displaced locals. The border crossing between Afrin and Turkey reopened in November 2018. On 18 November 2018, the Turkish Army and Turkish-backed rebel factions launched an operation against a group named al-Sharqiya Martyrs of about 200 fighters who were reported to disobey and commit abuses. A rebel commander named Mahmoud ‘Azazi was killed on 19 November and a mass rebel surrender took place on the same day. The clashes left 25 fighters dead.


Casualties

Various casualty estimates were made during the operation. The pro-Syrian opposition activist organization the
SOHR , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
documented 1,586 SDF and 616 TFSA fighters were killed, as well as 91 pro-Syrian government militiamen, 96 Turkish soldiers and 389 civilians. The SCWM site reported the death of 798 SDF and 696 TFSA fighters, 61 Turkish soldiers, 51 pro-Syrian government militiamen and 564 civilians by 26 April 2018. Turkey stated that 4,612 SDF fighters were killed, wounded or captured. Pro-Turkish sources also reported the deaths of 318 TFSA fighters, 58 Turkish soldiers, one civilian worker and 7–9 civilians in Turkey. According to the SDF, 2,772 TFSA fighters and Turkish soldiers were killed, while they themselves lost 600–876 fighters. The SDF also reported 500 civilians and 62 pro-Syrian government militiamen were killed. British national
Anna Campbell Anna Montgomery Campbell (1991 – 14 March 2018), also known as Hêlîn Qereçox, was a British feminist, anarchist and prison abolition activist who fought with the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in the Rojava conflict of the Syrian civil ...
was killed fighting for the Kurdish forces in Afrin. According to a pro-Syrian government and pro-Shia based news, the Turkish operation displaced 167,000 people as of 23 March 2018, up from 5,000 people in January 2018. Between 50,000 and 70,000 civilians still remained in Afrin city.


Human rights violations


Turkey

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(HRW) has criticized Turkey for having "failed to take necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties" in several instances during the offensive. The report specifically cited three attacks which left 26 civilians dead of which 17 were children. Lama Fakih, the deputy Middle East director at HRW, stated: "It appears that vulnerable civilians are facing displacement and death because of the way Turkey's latest offensive is being conducted." The HRW noted that such attacks have been conducted near farms, homes, and civilian shelters. The HRW stated that such attacks are a violation of international law: "Turkey should thoroughly investigate these strikes, make the findings public, and provide adequate redress to civilian victims or their families. It should hold to account those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law arising from the attacks." According to HRW, Turkish border guards have been indiscriminately shooting at refugees attempting to flee the conflict zone into Turkey. The deputy Middle East director at the HRW said: "Syrians fleeing to the Turkish border seeking safety and asylum are being forced back with bullets and abuse." Several witnesses who were asylum seekers affirmed that they were beaten, suffered abuses, and were denied medical care. The official statement from the HRW calls on Turkey to "respect the principle of
nonrefoulement Non-refoulement () is a fundamental principle of international law that forbids a country receiving asylum seekers from returning them to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, member ...
, which prohibits rejecting asylum seekers at borders when that would expose them to the threat of persecution, torture, and threats to life and freedom. Turkey must also respect the right to life and bodily integrity, including the absolute prohibition on subjecting anyone to inhuman and degrading treatment." Videos emerged on social media which showed Turkish soldiers stepping on and kicking the corpse of a YPG fighter. More videos on social media then emerged, including one such video that showed Turkish soldiers beating a Kurdish civilian while questioning him. Less than a week after the operation began, Redur Xelil, a senior SDF official, said that at least 66 civilians had been killed by aerial and artillery bombardment by Turkish forces, and accused Turkey of committing war crimes.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
reported that civilians were being killed by the Turkish Army due to indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, an act that is in violation of international law. According to Amnesty, the situation "painted a grim picture" throughout numerous villages in Afrin, within which civilians were subjected to indiscriminate shelling that lasted for hours. Amnesty also reported the shelling by the YPG of Azaz, though these actions were to a lesser extent. Lynn Maalouf of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
stated: "The use of artillery and other imprecise explosive weapons in civilian areas is prohibited by international humanitarian law and all parties should cease such attacks immediately." Syrian news media outlets and Kurdish fighters stated that Turkish forces were bombing schools. The SOHR also stated that Turkey had bombed the main water plant of the city of Afrin, which supplies water to more than 100,000 civilians. Sixteen civilians were reported dead when Turkish forces bombed the only hospital in Afrin city. Those killed included two pregnant women. Turkey denied the reports. Turkish
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
footage released the next day showed the hospital intact. On 16 February, YPG forces stated that Turkey was using chemical gas attacks that wounded several people in Afrin. The SOHR then confirmed the incident and added that there were several individuals who had difficulty breathing and had dilated pupils. Also, Syrian state news agency
SANA Sana may refer to: Places * Sanaa, the capital of Yemen * Sana (river), a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Sana, Bhutan, a town in Bhutan * Sana, Haute-Garonne, a commune in France * Sana, Iran, a village in Iran * Sana, Mali, a commune in M ...
, citing a doctor in an Afrin hospital, mentioned the incident. Turkey later denied usage of chemicals, calling the accusations "baseless". On 22 February, Syrian government news outlets stated that Turkey was bombing humanitarian aid convoys that were on their way to Afrin. As a result, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stated that they had suspended all aid convoys to Afrin because it was unsafe for them to head there. On the same day, a video surfaced that showed Turkish backed rebels executing a civilian driving a farm tractor. This was followed by another video by the same group that showed a summary execution of six civilians, including one woman near Jendires. In another bombing in the same area, Kurdish militia claimed that Turkish air strikes had killed 13 civilians, including several children.


TFSA

Several videos emerged showing Turkish-backed Syrian militants mutilating the bodies of YPG fighters. One such video showed the mutilated body of a dead female YPG fighter with her breasts cut off. Turkish-backed
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
(TFSA) fighters who appear in the video call the female fighter a "female pig" and are heard saying "shame on them for sending women to fight". They are shown in the film stepping on the female YPG fighter's breasts. The TFSA said that it will investigate allegations that its fighters mutilated the corpse of a female member of the YPG. ''The Independent'' stated that Turkish allied forces were forcibly converting
Yazidis Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking Endogamy, endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran ...
, a Kurdish-speaking religious minority, to Islam and destroying Yazidi places of worship after capturing their villages.


YPG

The human rights organization
Geneva Call Geneva Call is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is currently focusing its efforts on banning the use of anti-personnel mines, protecting children from the effects of armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence in ar ...
stated that the YPG has been recruiting
child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...
during ''Operation Olive Branch''.
Geneva Call Geneva Call is a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is currently focusing its efforts on banning the use of anti-personnel mines, protecting children from the effects of armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence in ar ...
also stated that it had received "a worrying number of allegations on the use of child soldiers" by the YPG, even though the latter had previously signed an agreement to protect children in conflict zones. While pro-Turkish media reiterated these statements, with
Daily Sabah The ''Daily Sabah'' (lit. "Daily Morning") is a Turkish pro-government daily, published in Turkey. Available in English, Arabic, and owned by Turkuvaz Media Group, ''Daily Sabah'' published its first issue on 24 February 2014. The editor-in-chief ...
stating that the YPG/YPJ had kidnapped children to use them in the defense of Afrin, the YPG denied all statements. SDF officials have claimed that child soldiers are only 16-18 and do not serve on the frontlines, which is a similar arrangements to states like the UK who avoid the ban on under-18 military recruitment through
treaty reservation
The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
reported that civilians were prevented from leaving the city of Afrin by the YPG/YPJ, and were at "high risk" of being "killed, injured, besieged, used as
human shields A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...
or displaced as a result of the fighting."


Damage to archaeological and cultural sites

On 24 January 2018, a rocket was fired from inside Syria, hitting the 17th century Çalık Mosque in
Kilis Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province. History Although there aren't any definite information related to its foundation, today's Kilis mainl ...
, Turkey. The explosion killed two people who had been in the mosque for prayers and injured 11. The dome of the mosque was destroyed. On 28 January 2018, Syria's antiquities department and the
SOHR , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
, said that Turkish shelling had seriously damaged the ancient temple of Ain Dara at Afrin. Syrian government called for international pressure on Turkey "to prevent the targeting of archaeological and cultural sites". Satellite imagery has shown that more than half of the temple is destroyed. Turkish Armed Forces denied the report. On 18 March, Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army militants toppled a statue of Kawa, a Kurdish mythological figure, during the capture of Afrin city. On 23 March 2018 reports stated that Turkish airstrikes destroyed many important archaeological buildings including the Julianus Church, which is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, in the Brad ancient Christian heritage site near Afrin, which has been in
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's world heritage list since 2011. On 24 March, the Turkish government denied the reports.


Economic consequences

Turkish PM said that Turkey's economy would not be affected by the operation. However, on 7 March,
Moody's Investors Service Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...
downgraded Turkey's debt, warning of an erosion of checks and balances under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and saying that the Afrin offensive, having strained ties with Washington and drawn the country deeper into the Syrian civil war, had added an extra layer of
geopolitical risk Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
. In January 2019 Kurds stated that Turkey was stealing olive crops from Afrin. Turkey has admitted taking the olives, explaining: "We do not want revenues to fall into PKK hands". One of the Kurdish-led groups that has attacked the Turkish forces in Afrin calls itself "Wrath of Olives".


Reactions in Turkey

In Istanbul, the offices of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was attacked when supporters of the operation vandalized the building and wrote
sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
and
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
writing on the walls. Turkey's
Directorate of Religious Affairs The Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey ( tr, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, normally referred to simply as the Diyanet) is an official state institution established in 1924 by the orders of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk under article 136 of t ...
called all mosques on Turkey to read
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
’s chapter 48 on conquest (
Al-Fath Al-Fath ( ar, الفتح, ; "Victory" , "Triumph") is the 48th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an with 29 verses ( ayat). The surah was revealed in Madinah in the sixth year of the Hijrah, on the occasion of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah between the M ...
) and invited community to pray for Turkish soldiers. Rising
anti-American sentiment Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Cen ...
has also occurred since the start of the operation. A poll conducted in Turkey during the operation revealed that 90 percent of respondents believed that the United States is "behind" the PKK and YPG. A poll by pro-Turkish government A&G company found that 90% of Turkish respondents expressed support for the operation. The poll also had 89% of respondents viewing the PYD as a threat.


Groups in Turkey

The
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has been ...
(MHP), Good Party,
Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...
(CHP), Patriotic Party and Democrat Party all supported the intervention, while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Turkish Communist Party and the Labour Party opposed the intervention. While the CHP supported the operation, both its leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and deputy leader Öztürk Yılmaz expressed concern at the involvement of the Syrian National Army, with Yılmaz accusing the SNA of being
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. In response, Erdoğan and other AKP officials defended the SNA and accused Yılmaz of supporting the YPG. Less than a week after the operation began, İsmail Kahraman, the
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly This article lists the speakers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The name of the parliament of the Republic of Turkey, originally and currently the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi) since its est ...
in Turkey and deputy of AKP, called for an open
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
in Afrin. He said: "Look, we are now in Afrin. We are a big state. Without jihad, there can be no progress, one cannot stand on their feet." When on 7 March a HDP deputy criticised the government for planning "ethnic cleansing" in Afrin, deputies of the governing AKP party physically attacked their HDP colleagues in parliament, leaving two HDP deputies injured. On the website of the
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( tr, İstanbul Ermeni Patrikhanesi; Western hy, Պատրիարքութիւն Հայոց Կոստանդնուպոլսոյ, ''Badriark'ut'iun Hayots' Gosdantnubolsoy'') is an autonomous See. The seat of ...
it is written that
Turkish Armenians Armenians in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Ermenileri; hy, Թուրքահայեր, also Թրքահայեր, "Turkish Armenians"), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000, down from a population of over 2 ...
are praying for Turkish soldiers "who are fighting against terrorists". Yetvart Danzikian, the editor-in-chief of Turkish-Armenian Agos newspaper in Turkey, asserted that it is wrong to state that the Armenians support the Patriarch. He added that there are "strong nationalists winds" in Turkey and going against the operation would lead to arrest and imprisonment. In a letter, addressed to President Erdoğan and published by Turkey's Hürriyet daily, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch,
Bartholomew I of Constantinople Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''pr ...
, has also lent his support to the Turkish military operation. Hürriyet's report is reproduced by Greek media, some of which stress, however, that the letter is not uploaded in the
Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
's official website. The Turkish Medical Association stated that the war could end in large-scale human tragedy to which Erdoğan responded by calling the doctors of the association "filth", "agents of
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
", and "terrorist lovers". The Turkish interior ministry then opened an investigation into the association. At least eleven doctors were then arrested. Erdoğan stated that the association will lose it "Turkish" tag in its official name and clarified that the organization "will not be able to use the notion of Turkishness, nor the name Turkey." He then added: "This institution has nothing to do with Turkishness and nothing about them is worthy of the notion of Turkishness." On 19 March, a group of at least seven students at
Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University ( tr, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus, Bosphorus strait. It has six facult ...
conducted an anti-war protest to which Erdoğan responded by saying that the students were "terrorists" and "communist, traitor youth". He then started an investigation into the students and threatened to expel them from the university. He added: "we won't give these terrorist youth the right to study at these universities." The president of Boğaziçi University claimed that the protesters had assaulted the participants of a commemoration event on the campus for fallen Turkish soldiers and said their action was "an attack on freedom of expression". Days later, an additional fifteen students were arrested following the incident. The
Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Süper Lig, Turk ...
(TFF) supported the military operation as well. A TFF delegation which included its chairman
Yıldırım Demirören Yıldırım Demirören (born 6 October 1964) is a Turkish businessman, former chair of the Istanbul-based Turkish multisports club Beşiktaş, and former president of the Turkish Football Federation. He owns part of ''Demirören Şirketler Gr ...
and two trainers of national teams visited the town of
Kilis Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province. History Although there aren't any definite information related to its foundation, today's Kilis mainl ...
. The Football clubs Besiktas and Galatasaray, both from Istanbul have expressed their support for the military campaign.


Media reactions

Turkish mainstream newspapers featured front page titles such as "We said we would strike despite the US and Russia. We struck the traitors", "We hit them in their den", "Iron fist to terror, olive branch to civilians", and "Our jets hit Afrin. Turkey's heart beats as one" from the ''
Sözcü ''Sözcü'' (English: ''Spokesperson'') is a popular Turkish daily newspaper. ''Sözcü'' was first published on 27 June 2007 by Burak Akbay and is distributed nationwide. As of June 2018, it is one of the top-selling newspapers in Turkey, with ...
'', ''
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
'', '' Habertürk'', and ''
Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...
'' newspapers respectively.
İbrahim Karagül İbrahim Karagül (born 1969 in Sinlice, Salpazari, Trabzon) is a Turkish journalist and a former editor in chief of the newspaper ''Yeni Safak''. Education and early life He attended primary school in Sinlice, secondary education he received ...
, editor-in-chief of the pro-AKP ''
Yeni Şafak ''Yeni Şafak'' ("New Dawn") is a conservative, Islamist Turkish daily newspaper. The newspaper is known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party and has a very close relationship with the Turkish government. ...
'', wrote that the US is the real enemy and that it has a plan to "divide and destroy Turkey" by allying itself to PKK and ISIS. He called for the Incirlik Air Base to be shut down as "since the Syria war started, terrorist organizations are being controlled from this base." He also remarked that if it is not closed down "there will come a time when thousands of people surround and siege the İncirlik Base." The
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...
(TRT World) reported that Free Syrian Army "has captured a weapon from the YPG, which is thought to have been supplied to the SDF by the United States." A newscaster who worked for Akit TV, a television channel that is a part of
Yeni Akit ''Yeni Akit'' (literally "New Agreement") is an Islamic-conservative Turkish daily newspaper. ''Yeni Akit'' is aligned with Islamism and has been criticised for homophobia and hate against the LGBT, Jews, Christians, and atheists. History The ...
, a conservative and Islamist Turkish news outlet that supports the AKP and has close ties with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, resigned after threatening to kill civilians that lived in Turkey's secular neighborhoods in response to accusations of the civilians being killed in Afrin by the Turkish army. Andrew Gardner,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
's senior adviser on Turkey, stated that there has been an "alarming" increase of similar rhetoric in Turkey. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Gardner added: "But inciting to violence is something different and it is on the rise in Turkey. This is harmful for human rights and harmful for the society."


Media restrictions in Turkey

Turkish government ministers ordered the Turkish press to follow a 15-point list of "expectations" for reporting on the conflict, which included not mentioning attacks on civilians or protests against the operation, relying on Turkish government statements and ignoring statements by "domestic arms of the PKK", which include the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), ignoring any protests against the Afrin operation, and keeping in mind "national interest" and "patriotic journalism". Journalists were admonished not to "report news that boosts the morale of the PKK/PYD".
Reporters without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
notes that the goal of these directives is to essentially "put the Turkish media at the service of the government and its war goals." On 21 January Erdoğan warned that anyone in Turkey protesting against the operation would pay a "heavy price." Erdoğan then added: "Know that wherever you go out on the streets our security forces are on your necks." In a 1 March 2018 report titled "No one in Turkey dares report accurately on the war in Syria", ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' assessed that "the climate of fear, the ongoing state of emergency and the nationalist zealotry unleashed by the coup have made objective coverage of the war in Afrin impossible" and pointed to arrest as "the weapon of last resort" as well as a "nuanced system of incentives and sanctions". As of 23 January 2018, at least 24 journalists writing columns against the operation had been arrested in Turkey. In addition to the arrest of journalists, hundreds of known arrests occurred of social media users who criticized the operation. The Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said that the posts were violations of the following crimes proscribed by articles of the Turkish Penal Code, including
Article 301 Article 301 is an article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish nation, Turkish government institutions, or Turkish national heroes such as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. It took effect on June 1, 2005, and was introdu ...
, which prohibit insulting public officials or the president, degrading the Turkish nation, and spreading terrorist propaganda. During a news segment on
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...
(TRT), a newscaster is now being investigated by TRT's news division after she stated on air that civilians died due to Turkish bombardment. The news division stated: "After this sad mistake, our speaker has immediately been withdrawn from the air, and a new friend was assigned to replace her. Also, an investigation has been launched against our speaker."


Restrictions of free expression and arrests in Turkey

After the Turkish Medical Association stated that "every clash, every war, causes physical, psychological, social and environmental health problems and causes human tragedy", they were issued arrest warrants against 11 board members of the Turkish Medical Association for spreading terrorist propaganda. Turkish authorities have arrested numerous leaders and high-ranking members of pro-Kurdish and left-wing political parties. On 6 February 2018, Mehmet Arslan, co-leader of the Democratic Regions Party, has been arrested for criticizing the operation. Days later, more have been arrested which include Onur Hamzaoğlu, a spokesman for the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), Musa Piroğlu, chairman of the Revolutionary Party, Naci Sönmez and Eylem Tunceli, Co-Chairs of the
Green Left Party Green Left Party ( tr, Yeşil Sol Parti) is a left-libertarian and green party in Turkey. It was founded on 25 November 2012 with the name Party of Greens and the Left Future ( tr, Yeşiller ve Sol Gelecek Partisi) as a merger of the Greens Par ...
(YSGP), Fadime Çelebi, Deputy Chair of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed, Kezban Konukçu, spokeswoman for the Socialist Solidarity Party, and Ahmet Kaya, co-chair of the Socialist Refoundation Party (SYKP). More arrests occurred on 19 February when dozens of politicians and journalists were arrested overnight including provincial heads of several Turkish cities that belong to the HDP. Among those arrested also included members of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and leaders of the Democratic Society Congress, a pro-Kurdish NGO. Turkey has detained over 800 people for
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
posts and protesters who opposed the offensive. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, called those who criticize the operation as being nothing but "
Marxists Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectic ...
, communists, and atheists" who are no different than the YPG. Prime Minister
Binali Yildirim Al Bin Ali ( ar, آل بن علي) is a Sunni Arab sub-tribal confederation based in the Arab states especially in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The Al bin Ali Bani Utbah, Al Utbi Tribe, is a descendant of ...
stated that those social users who make posts that criticize the operation or depict the military incursion as an attack on Kurds would be considered the "biggest villainy". In May 2019, eleven members of Turkey's leading medical association were imprisoned for criticising the invasion. On 19 February 2018, Turkish authorities announced that all protests, meetings, rallies, and concerts held in Turkey's capital Ankara will be prohibited for the duration of the operation. In regards to the arrests, Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Detaining and prosecuting people for tweets calling for peace is a new low for Turkey's government." He then added, "Turkish authorities should respect people's right to peacefully criticize any aspect of government policy, including military operations, and drop these absurd cases."


Reactions in Syria


Syrian government

The Syrian Foreign Ministry on 20 January condemned "the Turkish aggression against the town of Afrin", calling it "an inseparable part of Syria".
President of Syria The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, to ...
Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
denounced the Turkish invasion as terrorism, saying "Turkey's aggression in the Syrian city of Afrin cannot be separated from the policy pursued by the Turkish regime since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis and built on support for terrorism and various terrorist groups". On 19 March, after the capture of the city of Afrin by the Turkish forces, Syria's foreign ministry demanded that Turkey immediately withdraw from Afrin, saying in two letters sent to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UNSC that Turkey's occupation of the city was "illegal and contradicts the principles and purposes of UN Charter and international law."Syria: Turkish regime forces occupation of Afrin illegitimate act
SANA, 19 March 2018.
Among other things, the Syrian foreign ministry said: ″As part of the crimes committed by the Turkish army forces, including the
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
policy, the properties of the citizens have been looted, their homes destroyed and many of them were detained.″ On 6 April, at the
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
mid-term ministerial conference in Azerbaijan, Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said that "Turkey has to withdraw its troops from Afrin. I am hoping that there will be pressure on Turkey to this end", adding that Syria expects Turkish troops to withdraw from Syrian soil as part of the trilateral mechanism created among Russia, Turkey and Iran: "Turkey's Afrin operation is a military aggression which violates the UN Security Council resolutions concerning Syria as well as the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement."


Other regional actors

* Syrian National Coalition supported the joint operation of the
Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...
and the
Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...
, considering it as continuation of the struggle against "the tyrannical regime and its allied
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian terrorist organizations." The Coalition called
Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...
, People's Protection Units, and Democratic Union Party "terrorist organizations," and urged to remove "their danger from Syria." The Syrian Coalition emphasized that "elected local councils will take on the administration of the freed towns and villages away from the authority of terrorist groups and the status quo they sought to establish." ** Syrian Turkmen Assembly: Emin Bozoğlan, ex-council head of the assembly stated: "We were informed that the terror group PYD/PKK will transfer its arms to Raqqa, where they used to work with regime forces for years." He also said Turkey should "definitely" take necessary measures in this regard. ** Kurdish National Council: KNC condemned the Turkish military operation in Afrin. In a statement on 22 January, the KNC "categorically rejected" the SNC statement supporting the operation, stating that the SNC statement was released without consultation with the KNC. The KNC also demanded a halt to Turkish bombing and military operations in Afrin. YPG also stated that the Russia is a "partner of bloodshed" with Turkey in Afrin. * The YPG stated that "they will respond to the Turkish provocation since civilians have been attacked". General Command of
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
in Afrin stated: "We know that, without the permission of global forces and mainly Russia, whose troops located in Afrin, Turkey cannot attack civilians using Afrin airspace. Therefore we hold Russia as responsible as Turkey and stress that Russia is the crime partner of Turkey in massacring the civilians in the region." * Syrian population in Idlib Governorate: the local population denounced the move of rebel troops to serve Turkey in its focus on Afrin while the Syrian government led an active and successful
offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
against rebel groups in the region.


International reactions


UN-member states

* Azerbaijan: Spokesman of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
Hikmət Hacıyev said that Azerbaijan fully understands Turkey's security concerns against the "terror threat". Hacıyev also said: "Azerbaijan, which suffered from terrorism, condemns all forms and manifestations of terrorism and supports the efforts of the international community in the fight against this menace." * Bulgaria: The President of Bulgaria
Rumen Radev Rumen Georgiev Radev ( bg, Румен Георгиев Радев ; born 18 June 1963) is a Bulgarian politician and former major general who is the current president of Bulgaria since 22 January 2017. Radev previously served as higher command ...
condemned the operation and insisted that the European Union should intervene to stop it. * Cyprus: The Republic of Cyprus condemned the Turkish invasion in Afrin as "illegal" and stressed that the Syrian crisis cannot be resolved by military means. * Egypt: On 21 January, Egypt condemned Turkey's military operation in the Afrin region and stated it was a serious threat to Syria's sovereignty. On 19 March, the foreign ministry of Egypt condemned Turkey's capture of Afrin from the YPG, affirming its rejection of any "infringement on Syrian sovereignty", denouncing the large-scale displacement of Syrian civilians as well as the grave humanitarian threats posed by Turkey's seizure of the city: "Egypt considers the ongoing breach of Syrian sovereignty unacceptable." * France: Since Ankara launched its operation against Afrin, Paris has been an unrelenting critic of the Turkish stance.
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Jean-Yves Le Drian called for an emergency
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
meeting hours after the Turkish incursion into Afrin. On Twitter, he indicated that the meeting would also cover the situation in
Ghouta Ghouta ( ar, غُوطَةُ دِمَشْقَ / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside and suburban area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is the Arabic term (''gh ...
and
Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...
. President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
stated on 31 January 2018, that if the Operation Olive Branch intends something different than securing Turkish borders against terrorists and evolves into an attempted invasion, that it becomes a real problem for
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Macron also stated that Turkey must respect Syria's sovereignty. On 7 February France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Ankara should not worsen the Syrian conflict: "Ensuring the security of its borders does not mean killing civilians and that should be condemned. In a dangerous situation in Syria, (Turkey) should not add war to war." On 13 March, France's foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers in parliament that Turkey's operation against the YPG in the Afrin region was not justified, the strongest language yet from Paris regarding its NATO ally's intervention in Syria. On 29 March 2018, French President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
vowed to send troops to Syria's Manbij in a bid to assist local SDF militias in preventing Turkish forces from advancing on the town. On 30 March it was reported that France offered to mediate between Turkey and the SDF, an offer immediately rejected by Turkey. * Germany: The assistant spokesman from the Minister for Foreign Affairs said that "Turkey has legitimate security interests along its border with Syria. We hope and expect that Turkey will continue to exert political and military restraint". Breul also added that Germany believes that the focus of military activities in northern Syria should be on ISIL and its successor terrorist organizations in the region. Due to the ongoing Operation Olive Branch, Germany halted the upgrading of the Leopard 2 tanks. According to Sigmar Gabriel, the German government decided it was better not to deliver arms to conflict zones. In the German parliament on 1 February, all parties criticised the Turkish assault on Afrin. As Turkey has been reportedly used Leopard 2A4 tanks (which are German-made) in the operation, the oppositional parties Die Linke and Die Grüne demanded a halt to all military cooperation with Turkey. After meeting with Turkish officials in Munich, the leader of the Green party,
Cem Özdemir Cem Özdemir (, ; born 21 December 1965) is a German politician who currently serves as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture since 2021. He is a member of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. Between 2008 and 2018, Özdemir co-chaired the Gr ...
, who is a critic of the operation, received special police protection after being called a "terrorist" and receiving various other threats from the Turkish delegation. On 21 February, the chairman of the Bundestag foreign affairs committee. CDU's Norbert Röttgen said that Turkey should entirely withdraw from Syria and return to a political path in its conflict with Kurds. On 21 March, German chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Turkey's military offensive in Afrin: "Despite all justified security interests of Turkey, it's unacceptable what's happening in Afrin, where thousands and thousands of civilians are being pursued, are dying or have to flee." * Iran: A spokesman for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
on 21 January said: "
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
hopes that this operation will be ended immediately to prevent a deepening of the crisis in the border regions of Turkey and Syria. A continued crisis in Afrin may boost (..) terrorist groups in northern Syria." On 5 February, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, demanded Turkey to immediately halt its operation. * Iraq: The Iraqi government condemned the operation. Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on 4 February stated: "We reject any foreign nation from intervening in the affairs of another country." * Luxembourg: In a 19 March media interview, Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn said about Turkey's conduct that "this has nothing to do with self-defence any more", adding that Turkey would have to cease and desist from attacking the YPG and explain its conduct in Afrin to the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
council. * Netherlands: The
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs ( nl, Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. The incumbent minister is Wopke Hoekstra of the Christian Democrati ...
, Halbe Zijlstra, on 22 January said that
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
had the right to defend itself and its border, but at the same time pleaded with Turkey to show restraint. He also mentioned in his letter to the Dutch parliament that the Turkish offensive in Afrin would impact the joint fight against ISIL. He believes this to be the case, because the Kurdish
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
fights alongside the international coalition against ISIL, and are now being attacked by Turkey. Furthermore, he hopes to get more information from Turkish authorities concerning the operation, however, if this is not the case, then he will ask for more clarity at the next
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
meeting. * Qatar: Spokeswoman of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
, Lulwah Rashif Al-Khater said that: "The launching of the Turkish military operation last Saturday was motivated by legitimate concerns related to its national security and the security of its borders, in addition to protecting Syria's territorial integrity from the danger of secession. Turkey, a NATO member, has always been a stabilizing factor in the region." She also added that Turkey's counterterrorist operation in Syria's Afrin region was motivated by legitimate security concerns. * Russia: The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow was closely following the situation in Syria's Afrin and was concerned by the news about the Turkish military engagement in the city. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that Russia was withdrawing its troops from Syria's Afrin, the target of the Turkish offensive. Chairman of the Defense Committee of the
State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
Vladimir Shamanov said: "Not to recognize the Turkish interests in Afrin is impossible." Assistant to the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia
Alexander Venediktov Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants li ...
said: "The Kurds are being boosted with advanced weaponry. The deliveries of modern weapons and encouragement of separatist sentiments among the Kurds have in fact provoked Turkey into carrying out the military operation in Syria's northern Afrin region." On 9 April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia expects Turkey to bring Afrin under the control of the Syrian government. * Sweden: The Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Margot Wallström on 7 February cancelled her visit to Turkey that was due in two weeks, to protest the Afrin invasion. * United Kingdom:
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said: "Watching developments in Afrin closely. Turkey is right to want to keep its borders secure. We share the goal of reducing violence and keeping the focus on the most important task: a political process in Syria that leads to the end of the Assad regime." On 26 January, PM
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
called Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
, both have agreed that civilians must be protected in his country's offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria. Downing Street spokesman said: "The leaders discussed the ongoing Turkish operation in Afrin in Syria, with the Prime Minister recognising the right of Turkey to secure its border." * United States: A spokesman for the Pentagon stated: "We encourage all parties to avoid escalation and to focus on the most important task of defeating ISIS." The spokesman then added that the United States understands Turkey's concerns about the PKK, but would like to see a deescalation of violence and instead focus on fighting ISIS. US State Department spokesperson
Heather Nauert Heather Ann Nauert (born January 27, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist and former government official who served as Spokesperson for the United States Department of State in the Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. She is a seni ...
called on Turkey not to engage in any invasion of Syria's Afrin, reiterating a statement made by US Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American engineer and energy executive who served as the 69th U.S. secretary of state from February 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, under President Donald Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administ ...
, who also assured that the US had no intention of building a Syria-Turkey border force, saying the issue, which has incensed Ankara, had been "misportrayed." A day later, Tillerson then added that the United States is "very concerned" and that the operation should remain limited in scope and should show restraint. In a phone call on 24 January 2018, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
urged Erdoğan to "deescalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees." Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
Bekir Bozdag Bekir is a Turkish given name for males which comes from Abu Bakr the first Caliph of Islam. Given name * Bekir Fikri (1882–1914), Ottoman officer and revolutionary * Bekir Sıtkı Bircan (1886–1967), Turkish footballer * Bekir Bozdağ (born ...
urged the United States to halt its support for Kurdish YPG fighters, saying: "Those who support the terrorist organization will become a target in this battle." After Turkey has urged the US to remove its troops from Manbij, saying that otherwise they might come under attack from Turkish troops; however, US General Votel confirmed an American commitment to keeping troops in Manbij. In an interview Defense Secretary James Mattis stated that Turkey is the only NATO state which has an insurgency inside its borders, and has "legitimate security concerns". He also said that Turkey warned the US, before they launched the operation against the SDF. On 12 February, the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
released a budget blueprint for 2019 which with respect to the
Democratic Federation of Northern Syria The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, Ma ...
(DFNS) included $300 million for the
Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
(SDF) and $250 million for border security. * – On October 26, 2021, Elbrus Kutrashev, the Russian ambassador to Iraq said “there is a process of demographic change. It is done against heKurdish presence there. This is what I call a disaster
gainst Against may refer to: * ''Against'' (album), 1998 album by Brazilian metal band Sepultura ** "Against" (song) the title track song from the Sepultura album *Against (American band), 2006 American thrash band *Against (Australian band) Again ...
the local population.”


Supranational organizations

* Arab League: On 19 February, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit appealed to Turkey for restraint in "intervening in an Arab country south of your borders." On 15 April, the Arab League passed a resolution calling on Turkish forces to withdraw from Afrin. * European Union: The
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...
Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...
said she was "extremely worried" and would seek talks with Turkish officials. She expressed her concerns for two reasons: "One side is the humanitarian one – we need to make sure that humanitarian access is guaranteed and that civilian population and people are not suffering from military activities on the ground." The second issue was the offensive "can undermine seriously the resumption of talks in Geneva, which is what we believe could really bring sustainable peace and security for Syria". On 8 February, the European Parliament condemned the mass arrest of critics in Turkey of the Afrin operation, and criticized the military intervention as raising serious humanitarian concerns. "
EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...
are seriously concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the Turkish assault and warn against continuing with these disproportionate actions," the parliament's statement said. On 19 March, Federica Mogherini criticized Turkey, saying that international efforts in Syria are supposed to be "aiming at de-escalating the military activities and not escalating them." * NATO:
Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
said during a press conference in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
that Turkey is "the NATO Ally which has suffered most from terrorist attacks over many years and Turkey, as all of the countries, have the right to self defence, but it is important that this is done in a proportionate and measured way." * Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe: OSCE has criticized the Turkish government over the detention of social media users for criticizing the operation. * The United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights Michelle Bachelet demanded an independent investigation on the reports of human rights violations occurring in Afrin.


Other political entities

* Iraqi Turkmen Front: Aydin Maruf, lawmaker of ITF said: "We are well aware that this operation targets terrorist organizations in Afrin and not local residents or our Kurdish brothers. The armed groups currently based there, in Afrin, pose a serious threat to Turkey and the wider region. Iraq's Turkmen, as always, stand with the Turkish Republic. We believe this operation will serve to restore peace, prosperity and brotherhood to the area. The PYD/PKK terrorist group's presence in the Iraqi district of Sinjar disturbs all of the region's ethnic groups. We believe therefore that it is important to launch another such operation in Sinjar." * Kurdistan Regional Government: Kurdish Parliament condemned the Turkish military operation in Afrin, calling on the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and the international community to stop the attacks. * Kurdistan Workers' Party: PKK's women wing YJA member Ulkem Guneş, who uses Ciwal Simal as her nom de guerre, said: "Afrin resistance will open the northern revolution of Kurdistan and Turkey." She also called for uprising inside Turkey. Her speech ended with "Long Live Afrin Resistance" and "Leader Apo" slogans. * : Kosovan Police prohibited a pro-Kurdish "Freedom to Kurdistan" event from taking place. Official reasons by the police given were there was the organizers lacked permits and that "unnamed individuals might try to cause an incident during the event that could result in consequences". Turkish media praised that ban, claiming that the event would spread pro-terrorist propaganda. Minister of Public Administration
Mahir Yağcılar Mahir Yağcılar ( Serbo-Croat: ''Mahir Jagčular'') (born 6 May 1961 in Prizren, FPR Yugoslavia) is a Turkish Kosovar politician and the president of Turkish nationalist and conservative Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo (KDTP). Yağcılar grad ...
condemned the planned event, calling it a "provocation" and urged people to avoid activities that would damage Kosovo's image and the country's relations with Turkey. * : Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister
Hüseyin Özgürgün Hüseyin Özgürgün (born 1965) is a Turkish Cypriot politician and a former Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus. He is the current leader of the National Unity Party (UBP). He was formerly the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkish Republic of No ...
said his greatest wish is the successful outcome of the Afrin operation. Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay said: "We fully stand by and are a supporter of Turkey in its fight against terrorism and in its steps that have been taken to ensure its territorial integrity." ** The office of the Turkish Cypriot newspaper, '' Afrika'', was attacked after Erdoğan pointed out in a public speech that the newspaper wrote an article entitled "Yet Another Invasion by Turkey", referring to what they perceived to be the operation's similarities with the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...
. Erdoğan called it a "dirty headline" and suggested that "his compatriots in Northern Cyprus" should "give the necessary response to this", which provoked a crowd of 500 protesters to surround the newspaper's offices and hurl eggs, stones, and water bottles while some carrying flags of Erdoğan. The attacks damaged furniture, windows, and equipment. The police, who were at the scene, watched the incident and did not intervene.
Mustafa Akıncı Mustafa Akıncı (; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who was the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 until October 2020. An architect by profession, Akıncı in 1976 became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia ...
, President of Northern Cyprus, condemned the attack and went to the site during the rally to request extra security for the newspaper, only to be attacked by the crowd himself. A March for Peace and Democracy was organised by civil society in response to the attack.


References


External links


SOHR: 'Turkey supports anything that harms the Kurds'
Interview with Rami Al Rahman
Understanding Turkey's Afrin Operation
Center for Strategic and International Studies {{Syrian Civil War Olive Branch Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2018 January 2018 events in Syria February 2018 events in Syria March 2018 events in Syria Olive Branch Olive Branch Olive Branch Olive Branch Olive Branch Drone warfare Cross-border operations of Turkey into Syria