Jarabulus offensive (2016)
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The Jarabulus offensive, code named by Turkey Operation Euphrates Shield[37] (Turkish: Fırat Kalkanı Harekâtı) is a cross-border battle in and around the Syrian border town of Jarabulus between, according to the Turkish military′s official statement,[10] the Free Syrian Army and allied rebel groups backed by the Turkish Special Forces as well as other armed units, against forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as well as against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on the first day of the operation that it was aimed against both the ISIL and People's Protection Units (YPG), a major component of the SDF, allegedly both ″terror groups that threaten our country in northern Syria″.[38][39] According to an article published in The Independent, the most important Turkish objective is to strike at the political and military power of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava.[40] Also, the Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Işık said "preventing the Kurdish PYD party from uniting Kurdish cantons" east of Jarablus with those further west was a priority.[41] Before the operation, SDF forces including YPG units were advancing on Jarablus following their military victory over IS in Manbij.[42] Both Manbij and Jarablus 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.[43]
This was the first co-ordinated offensive between Turkey and the U.S.-led coalition into Syria.[44] Also, 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.[44]
The United Nations resolutions on the fight against ISIL bolster Turkey's rights for conducting the cross-border operation. Also according to Article 51 of Chapter 7, in the case of an armed attack against a member state, that state has the right for self or collective defense until the UN Security Council has taken measures to maintain international peace and security, and no UN article can nullify that inherent right.[45]
Contents
Preparations[edit]
On 20 August 2016, a large amount 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.[46]
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 IS positions in Jarabulus while simultaneously bombarding Manbij Military Council positions farther south in order to prevent them from advancing further to the north.[47] Karkamış was soon evacuated and cleared of its residents. Turkey continued to shell ISIL positions in Jarabulus after two mortar rounds hit Karkamış and three hit Kilis.[48]
On 23 August, Turkey shelled Islamic State-held territory in northern Syria again.[49]
The FSA troops taking part in the offensive comprise mainly of Syrian Turkmen and the FSA fighters which first met with Turkish troops were comprised solely of the branches of Syrian Turkmen Brigades.[50][51] During the offensive, as a sign of classification, FSA troops of Turkmen origin use light blue armbands, a color which is often used as a symbol of Turkic heritage; meanwhile, the Arab origin soldiers mainly use red ones.[50][52][53]
The SDF have accused the Turkish military intelligence of assassinating Abdel Sattar al-Jader, the leader of the Jarabulus Military Council, a component of the SDF, just prior to the operations.[54]
The offensive[edit]
Capture of Jarabulus[edit]
Early in the morning of 24 August, Turkish forces directed intense artillery fire against ISIL positions in Jarabulus while the Turkish Air Force bombed 11 targets from the air.[55] Later that day, Turkish main battle tanks followed by pick-up trucks, believed to be carrying Turkish-backed Syrian rebels,[56] and the Turkish Special Forces crossed the border and were joined by hundreds of Free Syrian Army fighters as the ground forces attacked the town.[22] U.S.-led coalition planes helped the Turkish forces.[3][44] This was their first co-ordinated offensive into Syria.[44] The FSA said progress was slow because of mines planted by IS fighters in the area.[56]
A few hours after the offensive's beginning, Turkish Special Forces and the Sham Legion captured their first village, Tal Katlijah, after ISIL fighters retreated from it to reinforce Jarabulus.[1] Some time later, FSA captured four more villages[57] including Tel Shair, Alwaniyah and two other villages.[58][31] Hours later, Turkish and US-backed rebels were reported to have captured the border town of Jarabulus, with ISIL offering little resistance.[59][60] SOHR too confirmed that FSA had captured the city almost entirely.[61] A FSA spokesman stated that a large number of ISIL fighters had withdrawn to al-Bab in front of the offensive.[62]
Continued advance against ISIL and conflict with SDF[edit]
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 "the elements that were part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG that participated, that they must go back across the river" (the Euphrates).[63][56] The YPG, however, initially refused to withdraw from Manbij,[64] 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 Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki, forcibly attempted to enter the SDF-held village of Amarinah south of Jarabulus, they were met with resistance. Whereas the SDF claimed to have repelled the assault, the rebels announced to have captured the village. Before clashing with the SDF, the FSA had captured half a dozen villages.[5][65][66][67]
On early 25 August, more than 20 Turkish tanks crossed into the Syrian border.[68] United States' Secretary of State John Kerry later informed the Turkish Foreign Minister that the YPG had started withdrawing to the east of the Euphrates river.[69] A spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve later announced that the SDF had withdrawn across the Euphrates river in order to prepare for an offensive on Raqqa.[70] 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.[71] Despite this, Turkey claimed that some YPG units had not retreated, leading the Turkish military to shell them with artillery and, according to Hürriyet Daily News, launch a drone strike against one YPG group.[72][73] The pro-PYD Hawar News Agency claimed later on that Turkish artillery had shelled the SDF-held village of Dandaniyah with chemical weapons, releasing pictures of purported victims. The report, however, could not be confirmed by indepedent sources.[74] 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 claiming that the Turkish-backed rebels were former ISIL fighters.[17]
Meanwhile, the offensive against ISIL continued, as both the Turkish-backed forces as well as SDF units took control of additional villages south of Jarabulus from ISIL.[75] Pro-PYD sources claimed that clashes had broken out among FSA groups in Jarabulus.[76] Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Işık stated later in the day that FSA was clearing Jarabulus of any remaining ISIL militants.[77] 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 ISIL siege of Mare', while Turkish media reported that the offensive aimed at securing a strip of territory along the Turkish-Syrian border.[16][11] However, Ankara's forces pushed south and has so far mostly focused on targeting Kurdish-led SDF forces.[78]
Disputed YPG withdrawal and continued offensive against the SDF[edit]
On 26 August, al-Masdar News claimed 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,[6] though rebel forces later released photos of YPG ID cards and weapons allegedly taken in Amarna, suggesting that at least some YPG fighters remained around Manbij, if not all.[7] 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.[79] Turkish-backed rebel forces then attacked and captured the SDF-held villages of Maz’alah and Yousif Bayk, while also attempting to advance against the stragetic significant hilltop of Amarna.[80][33] 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.[20] Also, later on the same 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 is the first reported fatality on the Turkish side.[81][82] Turkish forces retaliated with artillery fire.[83]
Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army cleaned Jarablus of mines and explosives planted by ISIL militants before their withdrawal from the town.[84] The Turkish Red Crescent started distributing food after landmines and other explosives had been cleared from the border between Karkamis in Turkey and Jarabulus in Syria. The humanitarian movement handed out various food supplies for around 5,000 people in the town.[85] Taking advantage of the conflict between SDF and FSA, ISIL launched a massive counteroffensive and captured al-Rai according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).[86][87]
On 28 August, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Aleppo24,[88] at least 20 civilians were killed and 50 wounded in Turkish artillery fire and air strikes on the village of Jeb el-Kussa, and another 28 were killed and 25 wounded in Turkish air strikes near the town of Al-Amarneh and the village of Saressat. Also, at least four SDF fighters had been killed and 15 injured in Turkish bombardment of the two areas.[89][90][91] Syrian monitoring groups reported that at least 70 people were killed at the weekend (27-28 August), most of whom were civilians, in the Turkish operations. Turkish officials didn't comment on the reported civilian death toll, except to say that commanders were taking all necessary measures to protect noncombatants.[92]
Turkey claimed to have killed 25 PKK and YPG militants in course of the airstrikes.[83] Turkish-backed forces then began a major attack against the SDF positions, capturing Amarna and nearby Ain al-Bayda; Rebel groups also claimed to have taken the villages of Qusa and Balaban further south, though this could not be independently confirmed.[8] The ANF News Agency published a video of two Turkish army tanks destroyed by SDF anti-tank missiles.[93] Meanwhile, Turkish-backed Sham Legion fighters released footage showing them stripping SDF prisoners, in response to SDF parading dead FSA fighters in Tell Rifaat earlier this year.[94]
Despite its claimed withdrawal, on 29 August YPG reinforcements arrived in Manbij in trucks and minibuses, along with additional weapons and equipment.[95]
International reactions[edit]
European Union: European Parliament member and the chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok said that the PYD should remain on the east bank of the Euphrates river and "shouldn't use the fight against ISIL as an excuse to take hold of Arab regions. They have no business there."[96]
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Bulgaria: Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said: "The Turkish Armed Forces have probably prevented a probable new migration wave of 2 million people with the Euphrates Shield operation in Syria’s Jarablus with the coalition.”[97]
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Netherlands: The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders called for Turkey and Syrian Kurds to work against ISIL instead of fighting amongst themselves and Syrian Kurdish groups to be included in the peace talks. Nevertheless, he called the PKK a terrorist organization and it should be considered whether they will be included in the talks.[98]
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Germany: The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson supported Turkey's action against "terrorist activities" in northern Syria.[99] However, the Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier himself has reportedly condemned Turkish attacks against the SDF, while also condemning PKK attacks in Turkey.[100]
Russia: Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Moscow was deeply worried by the escalation of tension on the Turkish-Syria border.[101]
Syria: The Syrian foreign ministry condemned "this blatant breach to its sovereignty" by Turkey. Syria said: "Fighting terrorism on Syrian territory from any side should have been coordinated with Syrian government and the Syrian ... army that has been fighting in these battles for five years".[60] Also, added that "substituting (ISIS) with other terrorist organizations backed directly by Turkey" is not "fighting terrorism."[102]
Turkey: Turkey said the operation was an act of self-defence, in response to ISIS shelling of Turkish border towns and suicide bombings and attacks targeting Turkish nationals and also that "Our border must be completely cleansed of Daesh (ISIS)".[44] The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said that YPG should return east of Syria's Euphrates River. Both Manbij and Jarabulus are west of the river.[60] Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said preventing the PYD party - the political arm of the YPG - from uniting the PYD cantons east of Jarablus with those further west was a priority."[103]
United States: US Vice-President Joe Biden warned YPG forces in Syria that they would lose US support if they advanced west of the River Euphrates.[56] Also, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said during a visit to Turkey that the YPG should withdraw east of the Euphrates, and that a refusal to do so would mean an end to Washington's support for the group.[104] As Turkey launched a major attack against the SDF on 28 August, the Pentagon refused to comment, other than stating that the SDF remained an important partner in the war against ISIL.[105]
- Non-UN member states/regions
Iraqi Kurdistan: The head of the Iraqi autonomous Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, said on August 24 that Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey had agreed on a strategy to fight ISIS.[106]
Rojava: Syrian YPG forces said that the Turkish operation is motivated more by the desire to stop their advance at Jarablus than by anti-IS sentiment.[107] The Shahba region civilian council, formed under the umbrella of the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava to govern Manbij, condemned the occupation of Jarabulus as a Turkish attempt to expand into Syria, likening it to the Battle of Marj Dabiq. The council further stated that Jarabulus would become a "grave for the criminal occupier Erdogan and his mercenaries".[17]
Syrian opposition: The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces commended Turkey and other countries participating in anti-ISIS coalition for their support of the rebel offensive on Jarabulus town. The Syrian National Coalition claimed foreign military presence in and around Jarabulus to be temporary and limited to the provision of logistical support.[108][109]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
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- Military operations of the Syrian Civil War involving Turkey
- Military operations of the Syrian Civil War involving the Syrian Democratic Forces
- Military operations of the Syrian Civil War involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Military operations of the Syrian Civil War in 2016
- August 2016 events in Asia
- Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian Civil War
- Jarabulus District