Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war

Belligerents

• Syrian Interim Government
• Syrian Salvation Government

DAANES

• Syrian Democratic Forces

Kurdistan Workers' PartyIslamic StateCommanders and leadersUnits involvedIslamic State militaryStrength 685,862 servicemen
668 aircraft 65,000 31,500–100,000 militants (2016) 178,000 servicemen
320 aircraftCasualties and losses 2,365+ killed 3,000+ killed or captured (per Turkey) 881–1,517 civilians killed by Turkish Armed Forces and border guards

Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war began diplomatically and later escalated militarily. After a decade of relatively friendly relations with Syria from 2000 to 2010, Turkey condemned Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over the violent crackdown on protests in 2011 and, from the beginning of the war, Turkey trained defectors of the Syrian Army in its territory under the supervision of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT), among whom emerged the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in July 2011. The Turkish government's involvement further evolved into border clashes in 2012, and direct military interventions in 2016–20 and 2022, resulting in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016. In December 2024, Turkish proxy forces were involved in the 2024 Syrian rebel offensive which toppled the Assad regime in Damascus, becoming one of the most influential parties during the conflict.

Until 2016, Turkey had addressed the Syrian civil war through international diplomacy and targeted sanctions. Tensions between Syria and Turkey significantly worsened after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish fighter jet in June 2012, and border clashes erupted in October 2012. On 24 August 2016, the Turkish Armed Forces began a direct military intervention into Syria by declaring Operation Euphrates Shield, mainly targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It had also fulfilled other pre-existing Turkish policy goals, such as limiting the influx of the refugees of the Syrian civil war.

Turkey strongly supported Syrian dissidents, as it became increasingly hostile to the Assad government's policies and encouraged reconciliation among dissident factions. Turkey financed the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, also known as the Syrian National Coalition, and facilitated the establishment of the Syrian National Army.