Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war
Involvement of Turkey in the Syrian civil war / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Turkey's involvement in the Syrian Civil War began diplomatically and later escalated militarily. Initially, Turkey condemned the Syrian government at the outbreak of civil unrest in Syria during the spring of 2011;[77] the Turkish government's involvement gradually evolved into military assistance for the Free Syrian Army in July 2011,[78] border clashes in 2012,[79] and direct military interventions in 2016–17,[80][81][82] in 2018,[83] in 2019, 2020, and in 2022.[84] The military operations have resulted in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016.[85][86][87]
Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war | |||||||||||
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Part of foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war | |||||||||||
Clockwise from top left:
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Belligerents | |||||||||||
Supported by: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (limited)[14][15] |
Supported by:
PKK[23] |
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (limited) |
Syrian Arab Republic Libyan National Army Hezbollah | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||||
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Salim Idris Abdurrahman Mustafa Albay Ahmed Berri Ebubekir Seyf Fehim Isa Ahmed Othman |
Hediya Yousef[26] |
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi † (Emir of al-Bab) Abu Hussein al-Tunusi †[30] ISIL southern Raqqa field commander Abu Khalid Urduni †[31] (Emir of al-Bab) Abu Ja'fr Dagestani †[32] (ISIL emir) |
Bashar al-Assad Maher al-Assad Ali Abdullah Ayyoub | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||||
Free Syrian Army |
YPG | Unknown | National Defence Forces | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||||
685,862 servicemen 668 aircraft | 65,000 | 31,500–100,000 militants (2016) |
178,000 servicemen 320 aircraft | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||||
Turkey 299–356 servicemen killed Equipment
2,290 killed[lower-alpha 11] |
Syrian Democratic Forces 2,450 killed[lower-alpha 15] |
Islamic State Hayat Tahrir al-Sham 2 killed[52] Lions of the East Army 1 killed[53] |
Syrian Government Equipment
Hezbollah 3 servicemen killed[71] Equipment
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765-1,517 civilians killed by Turkish Armed Forces and border guards[lower-alpha 23] |
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[77] and later that year joined a number of other countries demanding his resignation.[88] From the beginning of the war, Turkey trained defectors of the Syrian Army in its territory under the supervision of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT), among whom emerged the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in July 2011. In May 2012, the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) began arming and training the FSA[78] and provided them with a base of operations. 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.[79] 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.
Turkey has strongly supported Syrian dissidents. Syrian opposition activists convened in Istanbul in May 2011 to discuss regime change,[89] and Turkey hosted the head of the Free Syrian Army, Colonel Riad al-Asaad.[90] Turkey became increasingly hostile to the Assad government's policies and encouraged reconciliation among dissident factions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his intent to "cultivate a favorable relationship with whatever government would take the place of Assad."[91] In 2017, it facilitated the establishment of the Syrian National Army of the Syrian Interim Government, which it finances.
A study by Metropoll in September 2019 found that 68% of Turks disapprove of the current government policies on Syria.[92][93] The poll also found that 47.5% of Turks see the Free Syrian Army as an "enemy". Three out of four Turks said that Syrian refugees should return to Syria "even if the war continues".[92] According to another research by Metropoll, the amount of support for 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria was at 79%, while Operation Olive Branch had 71% support.[94]