Operation Euphrates Shield (Turkish: Fırat Kalkanı Harekâtı) was an offensive by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army, which led to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. Operations were carried out in the region between the Euphrates river to the east and the rebel-held area around Azaz to the west. The Turkish military and Turkey-aligned Syrian rebel groups, some of which used the Free Syrian Army label, fought against the forces of the Islamic State (IS) as well as against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from 24 August 2016. On 29 March 2017, the Turkish military officially announced that Operation Euphrates Shield was "successfully completed".
The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on the first day of the operation that it was aimed against both the IS and Syrian Kurdish "terror groups that threaten our country in northern Syria". The objective to capture Manbij, under the de facto control of the AANES administration, that had been promulgated by the Turkish president at the end of February 2017 remained unfulfilled.
Background
Northern Aleppo Governorate is a region of major strategic importance in the Syrian civil war, previously mostly held by the Islamic State (IS). For IS it was their only gate to the Turkish border. For the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Shahba region between the Euphrates River to the east and the Kurd Mountains to the west is the missing link to connect the cantons of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava. For Turkey, it is the path to its influence in Syria. The stage for the Jarabulus offensive was set by the previous Manbij offensive from June–August, which saw the SDF capturing the city of Manbij and its surroundings from ISIL and in the aftermath moving north. At the same time, Turkey-backed Syrian rebels fought the Battle of al-Rai to approach Jarabulus from the west.
According to an article published in The Independent, the Turkish objectives were to target ISIL, strike at the political and military power of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and to consolidate its position in expectation of shifts towards more war or greater peace. Turkey's defence minister Fikri Işık said that "preventing the Kurdish PYD party from uniting Kurdish cantons" east of Jarabulus with those further west was a priority. In Ankara Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "at 4 am this morning, operations started in the north of Syria against terror groups which constantly threaten our country".
Before the operation, SDF forces including People's Defense Units (YPG) units were advancing on Jarabulus following their military victory over the Islamic State in Manbij. Both Manbij and Jarabulus are west of the Euphrates River, but Turkey wanted YPG forces to move back to the east of the river after the conclusion of the SDF's Manbij operation.
Turkey's action pitched its military against a force backed by its NATO ally, the United States. It was the first time Turkish warplanes struck in Syria since November 2015, when Turkey downed a Russian warplane, and the first significant incursion by Turkish special forces since a brief operation to relocate the tomb of Suleyman Shah, in February 2015.
Pro-SDF sources stated that Turkey had "an agreement with IS " to rescue it in Jarabulus from the SDF offensive. According to Hürriyet Daily News this report is believed by "many" in Washington and Turkey and it could pose serious problems for Ankara.
Preparations
Reportedly, Turkey had prepared battle plans for the intervention more than a year prior. On 9 May 2016, a plan was reportedly proposed by the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to have the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement form a "Northern Army" to gather more than 3,000 fighters for the operation. The next phase was to transfer the fighters from Idlib to northern Aleppo through the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing and the Azaz border crossing. This reportedly began on 13 May. However, the plan was delayed due to doubts from U.S. officials about the capabilities of the Syrian rebel forces that Turkey had recruited to fight with its military, opposition from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and the rift between Turkey and Russia that was not mended until early August 2016.
On 20 August 2016, a large number of rebels and a military convoy containing more than 50 vehicles loaded with heavy and medium weapons from al-Rai were transferred to the Turkish border with Jarabulus. On 22 August, as a response to the Gaziantep bombing and two mortar shells launched by ISIL hitting the town of Karkamış adjacent to Jarabulus, the Turkish Land Forces launched 60 artillery shells at Islamic State positions in Jarabulus while simultaneously bombarding Manbij Military Council positions farther south in order to prevent them from advancing further to the north. Karkamış was soon evacuated and cleared of its residents. The Morning Star reported that Turkey continued to shell ISIL positions in Jarabulus after two mortar rounds hit Karkamış and three hit Kilis. On 23 August, Turkey shelled Islamic State territory in northern Syria again. IS responded by firing rockets into Turkey.
The Turkey-backed rebels under the brand of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that took part in the offensive comprised mainly Syrian Turkmen, mostly in the Syrian Turkmen Brigades. During the offensive, FSA militants of Turkmen origin used light blue armbands, a color which is often used as a symbol of Turkic heritage; meanwhile, the rebels of Arab origin mainly used red ones.
The SDF have said that MIT assassinated Abdel Sattar al-Jader, the leader of the Jarabulus Military Council (a component of the SDF), just prior to the operation.
The campaign
Capture of Jarabulus by Turkish-backed forces (24 August)
Early in the morning of 24 August, Turkish forces directed intense artillery fire against IS positions in Jarabulus while the Turkish Air Force bombed 11 targets from the air. Later that day, Turkish main battle tanks followed by pick-up trucks, believed to be carrying Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, and the Turkish Special Forces crossed the border and were joined by hundreds of Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters as the ground forces attacked the town. U.S.-led coalition planes helped the Turkish forces. This was their first co-ordinated offensive into Syria. The FSA said progress was slow because of mines planted by IS fighters.
A few hours after the offensive's beginning, Turkish Special Forces and the Sham Legion captured their first village, Tal Katlijah, after IS fighters retreated from it to reinforce Jarabulus. Some time later, the FSA captured four more villages including Tel Shair, Alwaniyah and two other villages. Hours later, Turkish- and US-backed rebels were reported to have captured the border town of Jarabulus, with IS offering little resistance. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported that the FSA had captured almost all of the city. A FSA spokesman stated that a large number of IS fighters had withdrawn to al-Bab in front of the offensive.
The fact that not much combat took place between Turkey or Turkish-backed Syrian rebels against IS in Jarabulus and the closeness in Islamist political ideology between IS and some of the rebel groups involved, has led to accusations, both local and international, about collusion between Turkey and IS in the operation, including reports of IS fighters changing uniform. In an interview published in The Independent on 9 September, an IS fighter said that "when the Turkish army entered Jarabulus, I talked to my friends who were there. Actually, Isis didn't leave Jarabulus; they just shaved off their beards."
Continued advance of Turkish-backed forces against ISIL and conflict with SDF (24–25 August)
Later on 24 August, speaking in Ankara, US vice president Joe Biden appeared to support Turkey's stance vis-a-vis the Syrian Kurds and said that "the elements that were part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG that participated, that they must go back across the river" (the Euphrates). The YPG, however, initially refused to withdraw from Manbij, while the pro-SDF Jarabulus Military Council groups declared that they would not give up their hometown to the Turkish-backed rebel groups which they considered "no different from ISIS". In consequence, when Turkish-backed FSA units, among them the Sham Legion and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, forcibly attempted to enter the SDF-held village of Amarinah south of Jarabulus, they were met with resistance. Whereas the SDF stated to have repelled the assault, the rebels stated that they had captured the village. Before clashing with the SDF, the FSA had captured half a dozen villages.
On early 25 August, more than 20 Turkish tanks crossed the Syrian border. The U.S. foreign minister later informed his Turkish counterpart that the YPG had started withdrawing to the east of the Euphrates river. A spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve later announced that the SDF had withdrawn across the Euphrates river in order to prepare for the Raqqa campaign. The YPG later separately announced it had withdrawn to the east of Euphrates and said all military command along with all YPG-held positions was handed over to the Manbij Military Council. Despite this, Turkey stated that some YPG units had not retreated, leading the Turkish military to shell the SDF with artillery and, according to Hürriyet Daily News, launch a drone strike against one YPG group. While the conflict between Turkey and SDF continued, members of the Jarabulus Military Council stated once again that they "will not allow some "mercenaries" to take over our city. We will liberate Jarabulus," with some stating that some of the Turkish-backed rebels were former IS fighters.
At approximately 11:00 pm local time that evening, internet censorship watchdog organization Turkey Blocks detected a nationwide social media blackout, restricting domestic and mobile services throughout Turkey. Analysts concluded that the blackout measure had almost certainly been implemented to restrict online sharing of sensitive war plans, as the offensive in Syria got under way, using newly amended wartime internet "killswitch" legislation.
Meanwhile, the offensive against IS continued, as both the Turkish-backed forces as well as SDF units took control of additional villages south of Jarabulus from IS. Pro-PYD sources stated that clashes had broken out among FSA groups in Jarabulus. Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Işık stated later in the day that FSA was clearing Jarabulus of any remaining IS militants. After Jarabulus was largely secured, rebel commanders declared conflicting targets for the further offensive; whereas the Levant Front announced that the rebels would next attempt to take Al-Bab, the Al-Moutasem Brigade and the Sultan Murad Division stated that the Turkish-backed forces would proceed west to break the IS siege of Mare', while Turkish media reported that the offensive aimed at securing a strip of territory along the Turkish-Syrian border. However, Ankara's forces pushed south and mostly focused on targeting Kurdish-led SDF forces.
Disputed YPG withdrawal; Turkish-backed rebels drive SDF south of the Sajur River (26–29 August)
On 26 August, Al-Masdar News stated that all YPG forces had actually withdrawn to the east of the Euphrates as result of the continued Turkish pressure, leaving all territory around Manbij under control of their allies within the SDF, though rebel forces later released photos of YPG ID cards and weapons reportedly taken in Amarna, suggesting that at least some YPG fighters remained around Manbij, if not all. On the next day Turkish planes bombed the SDF-aligned Jarabulus Military Council positions in the village of Amarna, 10 km south of Jarabulus. According to the SDF, civilian homes were also hit and the SDF avoided moving north to prevent escalation of the clashes. Turkish backed-rebel forces then attacked and captured the SDF-held villages of Mazaalah and Yousif Bayk, while also attempting to advance against the strategic significant hilltop of Amarna. In response to the attacks, mostly Arab SDF groups such as the Northern Sun Battalion announced that they would send reinforcements to help the Jarabulus Military Council. Later that day, one Turkish soldier was killed and three were wounded in an anti-tank missile attack on a Turkish tank south of Jarabulus. According to Turkish military sources the missile was fired from territory held by the SDF. The soldier's death was the first reported fatality on the Turkish side. Turkish forces retaliated with artillery fire.