2024 anti-Turkish riots in Syria | |||||||
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Part of the Syrian civil war and the Turkish occupation of northern Syria | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Protestors Anti-Turkey factions of the Syrian National Army | Turkey Syrian Interim Government | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
5 killed [1] | None | ||||||
3 protestors killed, 20 injured [1] |
In early July 2024, violent anti-Turkish riots occurred in northern Syria, within areas controlled by Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces. Local protesters and armed militants attacked and set fire to Turkish government buildings, military bases, and Turkish civilians in the region. The clashes coincided with anti-Syrian riots in Turkey.
Prior to the clashes, tensions between Syrian refugees and Turks had been intensifying in Turkey. The country, which hosts over 3 million Syrian refugees, has faced accusations of discrimination against this population. Furthermore, nearly 30,000 Syrian refugees were forcibly deported from Turkey in 2023 and subjected to inhumane treatment, according to the Syrians for Truth and Justice Institute. [2]
In a speech on 28 June 2024, Turkish President Erdoğan expressed his willingness to restore relations with the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad, inciting anger among the Syrian opposition and refugees. [3] [4] On the same day, Turkey reopened the Abu al-Zandin crossing near al-Bab, facilitating commercial connections between Turkish-controlled areas and Syrian government-held territories in the eastern Aleppo countryside. [5] Subsequently, on 30 June 2024, an anti-Syrian pogrom erupted in the Turkish city of Kayseri after a Syrian national was accused of sexually abusing a child. Dozens of Syrian-owned shops and offices were set ablaze, and 14 police officers were injured. [2]
On 1 July 2024, violent riots erupted in Turkish-occupied Northern Syria and the rebel-held Idlib Governorate, where several Turkish military bases are located. In the town of Al-Rai, protesters removed Turkish flags from government institutions and military bases, obstructing the passage of commercial convoys and trucks from Turkey. In the town of Azaz, employees of the Turkish postal service, PTT, were expelled from their offices. Subsequently, armed clashes erupted in Afrin, where gunmen attacked the Turkish military headquarters. [6] At the Syria-Turkey border, militants opened fire on trucks coming from the Turkish border, resulting in the burning of 11 trucks in total. [7] At least three protesters and five militants were killed during the clashes. [1]
On 2 July 2024, Turkey shut down all its border crossings with Syria, including the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, which serves as a trade and transit route for over 3 million people. [8] Additionally, reports emerged of internet and power outages in Syrian opposition-controlled areas. [9]
On 3 July 2024, traffic resumed through the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing after a two day hiatus. [10] In the town of Ras al-Ayn, fighters from the Hamza Division and Ahrar al-Sharqiya, along with local residents, demonstrated against the ongoing attacks on Syrians in Turkey. The former reportedly pulled some of its fighters from the frontline town of Abu Rasin in protest. [11]
Syrian Democratic Forces: Leader, Mazloum Abdi said that, despite differences, Syrians were united by national honor and independence. Abdi condemned the attacks on Syrians in Kayseri, and called for the protection of their lives and dignity. Abdi also welcomed all Syrians who rioted to SDF controlled areas in north and eastern Syria, extending a hand to save the country together. [12]
The Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing is located on the Syria–Turkey border about 50 km (31 mi) west of Aleppo in northwest Syria. It connects the Syrian M45 and the Turkish D827 highways, between the cities of İskenderun and Idlib, and is known for its long lines of trucks and buses. The closest town on the Turkish side of the border is Reyhanlı in Hatay Province, and the closest towns on the Syrian side are ad-Dana and Atarib. The crossing is the site of a 6th-century triumphal arch. It has been an important crossing for Syrian rebels during the Syrian civil war.
The June 2012–April 2013 Idlib Governorate clashes was a series of clashes within the scope of the Syrian civil war, that took place in Syria's Idlib Governorate. The events followed the April 2012 Idlib Governorate Operation by the Syrian government and consequent cease-fire attempt, which had lasted from 14 April to 2 June 2012.
The Rojava–Islamist conflict, a major theater in the Syrian civil war, started after fighting erupted between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. Kurdish forces launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of al-Hasakah and some parts of Raqqa and Aleppo governorates after al-Qaeda in Syria used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurdish groups and their allies' goal was also to capture Kurdish areas from the Arab Islamist rebels and strengthen the autonomy of the region of Rojava. The Syrian Democratic Forces would go on to take substantial territory from Islamist groups, in particular the Islamic State (IS), provoking Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.
The inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War has continued throughout the Syrian Civil War as factions of the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army have fought each other, with shifting alliances among various Islamist factions such as Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and the Islamic Front.
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; the Turkish government's involvement gradually evolved into military assistance for the Free Syrian Army in July 2011, border clashes in 2012, and direct military interventions in 2016–17, in 2018, in 2019, 2020, and in 2022. The military operations have resulted in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016.
The al-Nusra Front–SRF/Hazzm Movement conflict started in late October 2014, during the Syrian Civil War, in Idlib and Aleppo governorates, during which al-Nusra attempted to establish an Islamic state rival to that of IS. Despite this, the al-Nusra Front and Free Syrian Army factions continued to cooperate in the southern Syrian governorates of Quneitra and Daraa.
The Turkey–Islamic State conflict were a series of attacks and clashes between the state of Turkey and the Islamic State. Turkey joined the War against the Islamic State in 2016, after the Islamic State attacks in Turkey. The Turkish Armed Forces' Operation Euphrates Shield was aimed against both the Islamic State and the SDF. Part of Turkish-occupied northern Syria, around Jarabulus and al-Bab, was taken after Turkey drove the Islamic State out of it.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2015. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian Civil War from January to July 2014. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
Operation Euphrates Shield was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Syrian Civil War 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 Idlib Governorate clashes were a series of military confrontations between Ahrar al-Sham and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). During the clashes, Tahrir al-Sham attempted to capture the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, causing concern for Turkey, which prefers Ahrar al-Sham to be in control of the crossing. As a result of the clashes, HTS took control of Idlib city, the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, and most of the areas along the Turkish border in the Idlib Province.
Opposition–ISIL conflict during the Syrian Civil War started after fighting erupted between Syrian opposition groups and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In early January 2014, serious clashes between the groups erupted in the north of the country. Opposition groups near Aleppo attacked ISIL in two areas, Atarib and Anadan, which were both strongholds of the fundamentalist Sunni organization. Despite the conflict between ISIL and other rebels, one faction of ISIL has cooperated with the al-Nusra Front and the Green Battalion to combat Hezbollah in the Battle of Qalamoun. By 2018.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2020. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2021. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war for 2022. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found in Casualties of the Syrian civil war.
Clashes took place between Ahrar al-Sham and the Levant Front, two factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, across the Turkish-occupied areas of the Aleppo Governorate in June 2022, as part of the on-going civil war in Syria. Ahrar al-Sham was supported by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the latter's territories in the Idlib Governorate, while the Sham Legion and Jaysh al-Islam backed the Levant Front.
Clashes occurred between the Levant Front and the Hamza Division, two factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, across the Turkish-occupied areas of the Aleppo Governorate on 10 October 2022, as part of the on-going civil war in Syria. On 12 October, the Sunni Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) joined the fighting on the side of the Hamza Division, entering the Afrin region.
On 20 November 2022 the Turkish Air Force launched Operation Claw-Sword, a series of airstrikes against Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Army positions in Northern Syria and against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in Northern Iraq. The airstrikes were launched following the 2022 Istanbul bombing on 13 November, that the Turkish government say was conducted by Kurdish separatists.
In early July 2024, Turkey experienced a surge of anti-Syrian riots driven by anti-refugee sentiment. Caused by the molestation of a young girl, riots began in Kayseri, and spread across Turkey.
Operation Dawn of Freedom refers to a military offensive launched by the Syrian National Army against the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), targeting the northern Aleppo Governorate region between al-Bab and Tadef within the Operation Euphrates Shield zone.