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Operation Dawn of Freedom | |||||||
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Part of the Northwestern Syria offensive (2024) and the Rojava conflict during the Syrian civil war | |||||||
Map of the offensive in Syria | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Syrian Interim Government Turkey (since 8 December) [7] | Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Syrian Arab Republic (until 8 December) Russia | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
34 killed [a] 222 killed [b] (SDF claim) 14 captured (SDF claim) [23] 42 vehicles destroyed (SDF claim) [23] [22] 6 tanks destroyed (SDF claim) [22] | 53 killed [26] 33 captured (Turkish claim) [27] 14 Aero L-39 Albatros captured [26] | ||||||
13 killed [28] [29] 11 SDF/civilians executed by the SNA [30] Unknown number of civilians held captive [30] Several injured [28] |
Operation Dawn of Freedom [d] refers to a military offensive launched by the Syrian National Army (SNA; a Turkish-backed coalition of forces) 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.
Following the initiation of the 2024 Northwestern Syria offensive on 27 November and the capture of several regions of the city of Aleppo, the Syrian National Army (SNA) commenced Operation Dawn of Freedom on 30 November. The operation was officially announced by the Prime Minister of the Syrian National Coalition Abdurrahman Mustafa during an NTV interview. He outlined two primary strategic objectives: intercepting SDF supply networks and establishing a corridor connecting al-Bab, under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria, to Tel Rifaat. [31]
Operation Dawn of Freedom is unlikely to have occurred without approval from Turkey. [32] It was linked to Turkish demands for a "Safe Zone" in Syria. [33]
Following intense clashes between SNA forces and those loyal to the Assad government in northern Aleppo Governorate, SNA forces captured the town of Tadef later the same day. [2] Clashes broke out between SDF and SNA forces as SDF forces began to enter government-controlled towns in northern Aleppo, which government forces were retreating from due to the Tahrir al-Sham-led offensive on Aleppo from Idlib. [12] On 1 December 2024, SNA captured the towns of as-Safirah, Khanasir and the Kuweires airbase, while clashes occurred between SNA and SDF in the Sheikh Najjar district of Aleppo city. [3] The capture of Kuweires airbase had cut the "corridor" that the SDF had established between the Shahba Canton centred on Tell Rifaat and Manbij. [6] Since the operation began, approximately 850km² of territory had been captured by the SNA. [34] [ better source needed ]
On the evening of 1 December 2024, the SNA launched an offensive on the SDF-held town of Tell Rifaat, capturing the town along with several surrounding villages, including Shwargha, Menagh, Maranaz, Kafr Naya, Kuweires Sharqi, Shaykh Issa, Deir Jamal, and Ain Daqna. The remaining SDF-controlled towns in the region were besieged and cut off from communication after being encircled by opposition forces. [5] During its offensive, Turkey launched strikes on Rojava's territory in support of their offensive. [32]
On 2 December 2024, the SDF announced plans to evacuate Kurdish IDPs from Tel Rifaat and the Shahba region to SDF-held areas in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood district and northeastern Syria. [35] [36]
On 4 December 2024, SDF reported clashes in Dayr Hafir and in the southern Manbij region and confirmed casualties among the SNA. [37]
On 6 December 2024, Dawn of Freedom operations room announced an offensive on the SDF-held city Manbij. [8] On 8 December 2024, Turkey started supporting the SNA's offensive by conducting drone strikes on SDF positions. [7] On 9 December 2024, SDF withdrew from Manbij. [4] On 9 December 2024, Russia withdrew from their bases in Manbij and Kobani which are part of the peacekeeping agreement in 2019. [38]
From 8 December 2024, clashes took place on the Qara Qozak Bridge of the M4 Motorway and the Tishrin Dam, both critical Euphrates crossings, [39] with the SDF claiming to have killed dozens of SNA fighters. [40]
On 12 December 2024, a truce mediated by the United States was announced, [1] though it was ended days later. [41] On 17 December 2024, the truce was extended by a week. [42] The military attacks on Rojava continued in mid-December with the attacks on the Ayn al-Arab District. [43]
The Manbij offensive, code-named Operation Martyr and Commander Faysal Abu Layla, was a 2016 military offensive operation by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to capture the city of Manbij from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and eventually, the ISIL-held areas through Al-Bab to Herbel, in the area referred to as the "Manbij Pocket" in the northern Aleppo Governorate. The main goal of the offensive was to cut off ISIL's last supply routes from Turkey, and to prevent ISIL fighters from escaping across the Syria–Turkey border. For the first five days of the offensive, the US-led coalition conducted over 55 airstrikes in support of the SDF. After capturing Manbij city on 12 August, the SDF announced that the offensive would continue until the whole countryside around Manbij was captured, though the offensive effectively ended shortly after the Turkey, who regard the YPG elements in the SDF as a terrorist organisation, initiated Operation Euphrates Shield to prevent the SDF uniting the regions of Rojava.
The Manbij Military Council (MMC) is a coalition established by several groups in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), primarily the Northern Sun Battalion, on 2 April 2016 at the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates. The MMC led the SDF's Manbij offensive from June 2016 that led to the capture of the city of Manbij from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant two months later. Most fighters in the MMC are from Manbij and the surrounding areas.
The Shahba Canton was a political unit of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, in the Aleppo Governorate. The canton was established to administer the areas captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant west of the Euphrates, as part of the Afrin Region.
Arima, also spelled Orayma or Arimah, is a town and seat of a subdistrict (nahiya) in Al-Bab District, located 20 kilometers (12 mi) northeast of the city of al-Bab and 65 kilometers (40 mi) northeast of Aleppo in northern Syria. In the 2004 census, it had a population of 2,839. The town of Qabasin is also to the south-west, and closer than Al-Bab. Manbij city is to the north-east. In course of the Syrian Civil War, the town repeatedly changed hands. As of 2020, it was under dual control of the Syrian government and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The al-Bab Military Council (BMC) is an ethnically mixed force of the Syrian Democratic Forces, consisting of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen militias from northern Aleppo Governorate. The BMC currently maintains a presence in several villages west of Manbij, though its stated goal is to capture al-Bab, currently under the Syrian Interim Government.
Operation Euphrates Shield 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 western al-Bab offensive was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the countryside of northwestern Aleppo Governorate, south of the towns of Mare' and Tel Rifaat.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has many military councils for local security and defense, each being accountable to the civil council of the area they operate in.
The western al-Bab offensive was a multi-sided military confrontation between the Syrian Army, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), other (Turkey-backed) FSA factions, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the countryside of northwestern Aleppo Governorate, south of the towns of Mare' and Tel Rifaat.
The Syrian National Army, also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participates in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the start of the war in July 2011, it was officially established in 2017 under the auspices of Turkey, who provides funding, training, and military support.
The East Aleppo offensive (2017), also referred to as the Dayr Hafir offensive, was an operation launched by the Syrian Army to prevent Turkish-backed rebel forces from advancing deeper into Syria, and also to ultimately capture the ISIL stronghold of Dayr Hafir. Another aim of the operation was to gain control of the water source for Aleppo city, at the Khafsa Water Treatment Plant, in addition to capturing the Jirah Military Airbase. At the same time, the Turkish-backed rebel groups turned towards the east and started launching attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces, west of Manbij.
The Northern Democratic Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Region since 2014. Led by Absi Taha, Alexander Khalil, and Alexander Alaa, it also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG. Since joining the SDF, the unit has begun to operate across much of northern and eastern Syria, participating in operations against anti-SDF Syrian opposition factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Syrian National Army.
The SDF insurgency in northern Syria was a campaign of armed attacks carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), following the expansion of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria after the early 2018 Operation Olive Branch carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA).
The 2020–2021 Ayn Issa clashes were a series of clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in Ayn Issa during the Syrian civil war.
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.
On 27 November 2024, a coalition of Syrian revolutionary factions called the Military Operations Command led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported by allied Turkish-backed groups in the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the pro-government Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama Governorates in Syria. The operation was codenamed Deterrence of Aggression by HTS. This is the first time that opposition forces in the Syrian civil war launched a military offensive campaign since the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war from November 2024. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found in casualties of the Syrian civil war.
The Manbij offensive was a military campaign launched by the pro-Turkish Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Turkish Air Force against Syrian Democratic Forces positions in Manbij lasting from 6 to 11 December 2024. It was a part of Operation Dawn of Freedom, and occurred concurrently with the Deir ez-Zor offensive and the wider Syrian opposition offensives. The SDF withdrew their troops on 11 December after five days of conflict following a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The 2024 Kobani clashes were a military campaign conducted by the pro-Turkish Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Turkish Air Force against Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) following the successful 2024 Manbij offensive. The offensive was launched with the intent to capture the Kurdish-majority city of Kobanî and positions in Ayn al-Arab District to the east of the Euphrates. The offensive was initiated with numerous airstrikes across the Kobanî countryside, and on the Tishrin Dam standing on the Euphrates between recently captured Manbij District territories and the Ayn al-Arab District.
The East Aleppo offensive (2024) is an operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces in December 2024 against the Syrian National Army (SNA) to regain control of territory that was lost during the Manbij offensive and to advance from Dayr Hafir into the Tishrin Dam area.