Operation Euphrates Shield (OES), the Turkish-backed operation made up of Turkish and FSA Syrian rebel fighters, have been fighting against Daesh/ISIS in Syria since August 2016. The battalion has a dual purpose to (a) oust US-backed SDF (Syrian Kurds) from their strongholds in the northeast; and (b) participate in Coalition efforts to oust Daesh from northern territories. Turkey is an adversary of both the Syrian regime and the SDF. The SDF have absorbed current and former FSA groups such as Jaysh al-Thuwar. Vetted groups from both opposition factions are backed by Coalition members, the same Global Coalition Against Daesh of which Turkey is a member.
Area of focus within the square.
OES has liberated/occupied territory as far as 30km deep into northern Syria that fans out along a fourth of the Turkey-Syria border. This territory was won from SDF and Daesh held enclaves. The fight for al-Bab started on November 6, 2016 and is supposedly in its final stages today. FSA members were pictured a few days ago at a roadway roundabout near the town of Tadef, a town about a mile south on al-Bab.
5 Months of Operation Euphrates Shield in Northern Syria. Dark Green: Euphrates Shield; Light Green: FSA; Black: Daesh/ISIS; Yellow: SDF/YPG.
Today al-Bab has been liberated from Daesh, along with the city’s satellite-towns of Qabasin, Tadef, and Bzaa. Tadef’s liberation was confirmed earlier this morning with 37 Daesh fighters killed. Although most of the city has been cleared, there are still members of Daesh within the area as well as mines and IEDs (improvised explosive device) to clear. Full liberation has yet to be reported. Reports says that Turkish airforce hit 14 Daesh targets, as well as 90 targets with T-155 and T-122 tank artillary.
Two FSA soldiers at a roundabout a half mile away from the town of Tadef, south of al-Bab.
al-Hamza Brigade, an FSA affiliate of Euphrates Shield take a group photo in Qabasin, north of al-Bab.
As the Turkey-backed FSA fighters quickly captured swathes of al-Bab, Daesh fighters retreated into the city’s satellite towns. In the past Turkey has had a beneficial relationship with Daesh, but pressure from the Coalition caused Turkey to crack down harder on the group. Some accuse OES’s tactics of being too soft, as they allowed Daesh to retreat, rather than cornering and exterminating them.
Euphrates Shield (green), advance upon Daesh (black). SAA (red) to the south. This area can also be seen in the last animated map to the south.
As President Erdogan of Turkey reiterated earlier this month, the main objective of Operation Euphrates Shield is to beat the SDF to Raqqa: a major ISIS stronghold and a potential stronghold of the Kurds in the event that they capture it before OES forces arrive. The ultimate goal is a 5,000 sq km terror-free zone that will be used for the resettlement of Syrian refugees. This could perhaps mesh with the US Republican Administration’s plans to, instead of taking on the responsibility of taking in refugees, create ‘safe zones’ for the refugees while the rest of the country is at war. It is not certain that these plans will come to compliment each other.
In speaking about his adversaries in Syria, Erdogan makes very little effort to differentiate between the SDF and Daesh, since the Kurdish group is still considered an affiliate of the listed terror group, the Turkish-Kurdish PKK. The SDF have recently claimed their current project in Syria is not connected in any way to the PKK.
Since the end of WWI, Kurdish sovereignty has always been seen as a threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity. However, with the amount of support the Kurds have from the US and Russia and greater pressures from Syria for Turkey to pull out, their fates could change.
Turkey’s position as a Coalition member emboldens its actions against both fronts, as well as its refusal to acknowledge the Syrian government’s requests during the recent Syrian peace talks in Astana. Syria’s Permanent UN envoy, Bashar Ja’afari has called out Turkey’s project of liberation/occupation a threat to Syria’s sovereignty. This claim remains questionable, as Russia has acknowledged the possible legitimacy of and supplied weapons to the SDF/YPG of Rojava, the name that Kurds have given to their northeastern enclave. Russia is also putting together a working document to construct Syria’s new constitution.
Al-Bab is the second major landmark gained by OES. ar-Raqqa lies to the southeast.
Some Turkish nationalists call OES’s expanding territory the future Turkish Republic of Northern Syria. Prolonged occupation of these territories is not a far-fetched concern, as Turkey’s objective to block the existence of an autonomous Kurdish territory along their border is bolstered by more territorial gains against Daesh continuing to the south towards Raqqa. This would drive a 200km deep territory into northern Syria, a threat to any faction existing in the area.
Currently, the similarly-named SDF group Operation Euphrates Wrath are less than 5 miles away from Raqqa and are fighting Daesh in the surrounding area. It seems more likely that SDF forces will take the city first, and will be either deeply entrenched within or will have already liberated the city by the time OES forces arrive. This sets up the eventual existential conflict between the two groups. SAA (Syrian Arab Army) forces also lie to the south, presenting another obstacle for Turkish operations.
