Military occupation of Syria by Türkiye
Türkiye has been occupying parts of northern Syria since its armed incursion in August 2016.
Following the launch of Operation Euphrates Shield in August 2016, Türkiye and Turkish backed Free Syrian Army (also called Syria National army, TBFSA) seized control over the Turkish-Syrian border region in northern Syria. 
In January 2018, Türkiye and allied Syrian rebel groups initiated an offensive against Afrin, an enclave controlled by Kurdish militia. In October 2019, following the withdrawal of US forces from the Syrian side of the border, Türkiye launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters. Following the launch of Operation Claw-Sword in November 2022, Türkiye and Syria have begun to engage in talks, but President Assad wants Türkiye to withdraw before a direct meeting between the leaders can occur.
For a territory to be considered occupied, it must be 'under the authority of the hostile army'. For an occupation to exist, hostile foreign forces must exercise effective control. Three cumulative elements must be fulfilled for effective control to exist.
- First, the armed forces of a foreign state are physically present in the territory and the territorial state did not consent to their presence.
- Second, the presence of the foreign forces prevent the effective local government in place at the time of invasion from exercising its powers.
- Third, the foreign forces impose their own authority.
In many instances, the precise territorial extent of an occupation is difficult to establish.
In August 2016, Türkiye initiated a ground operation in northern Syria, known as operation Euphrates Shield. The operation pursued the dual objective of supporting Syrian armed groups in their offenses against the Islamic State group in the border area and to contain the expansion of the Kurdish People's Protection Units YPG in the same area in order to prevent them from creating a contiguous Kurdish-held territory between Afrin and Kobane. Türkiye considers the offensive against the YPG in Syria linked to the renwed non-international armed conflict against the Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK) in Türkiye (which is not classified by Türkiye as an armed conflict).
On 5 September 2016, Türkiye announced that the area between Jarablus and Aziz had been seized from the Islamic State group and 'was totally under the control of the TBFSA (Turkish Backed Free Syrian Army)’ backed by coalition forces.' Although Türkiye argued that the TBFSA was in control, Turkish forces did not withdraw and arguably started to occupy at least part of northern Syria.
In March 2017, Türkiye announced the successful completion of operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria. However, its ground troops appear to have remained in the territory seized during operation Euphrates Shield and continue to provide security. Reportedly, Turkish forces train local rebel groups and police forces, exercise influence over local Syrian administrative councils and exercise oversight over the delivery of humanitarian aid.
In addition to its military occupation, during late 2017 and early 2018, Türkiye deepened its involvement in the international and non-international armed conflicts in Syria. First, it supported the creation of an umbrella armed group named United National Army (UNA). Second, in October 2017 it deployed troops in the northern Syrian province of Idlib as part of the de-escalation zone agreed upon with Russia and Iran. Furthermore, in January 2018 Türkiye initiated a new air and ground campaign against the Kurdish militia in Afrin, backed by Syrian rebel groups, in particular the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Türkiye has been in control of the Turkish-Syrian border towns in northern Syria. Furthermore, it opened a health center in Afrin, and set up a police force to maintain security in the occupied areas called “Syria Task Force”. Türkiye’s support to the militias in northwest of the country went beyond armed support to rebuilding schools and hospitals. In March 2018, Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish backed-Free Syrian Army, recognized by Türkiye as the Syrian National Army, captured the city of Afrin in northern Syria. Türkiye’s president announced that “Türkiye’s aim is to give Afrin back to its rightful owners” referring to Syrian refugees currently living in Türkiye.
At the beginning of October 2019, US troops began withdrawing from northern Syria. As Kurdish forces have been a key ally of the US in the fight against the Islamic State, this decision paved the way for a Turkish military operation against the Kurds. Accordingly, on 9 October 2019 Türkiye lunched Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria, aimed at removing Kurdish forces and creating a ‘safe zone’ in Syria close to the border with Türkiye. The operation resulted in the occupation of a significant portion of the territory in the central area of Syria's border with Türkiye, notably to create a 30km ‘safe zone’ along the Syrian-Turkish border, on Syrian territory. Furthermore, a number of Kurdish fighters and civilians have been killed and more that 150,000 civilians were displaced. The Free Syrian Army also took part in the operation, backing Turkish armed forces.
On 17 October 2019, the United States and Türkiye concluded a ceasefire agreement, which granted five days to Kurdish forces present in US-controlled areas in order to leave and ‘to withdraw from the so-called "safe-zone" Ankara wants to establish inside Syria.’ The commander of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) welcomed the conclusion of the agreement and announced that his forces intended to observe it. Overall, the cease-fire was largely respected and Kurdish fighters withdrew in 5 days, as agreed.
On 22 October 2019, in Sochi, Türkiye and Russia concluded an agreement, whereby Türkiye could keep its armed forces in the 120km-long stretch of the frontier from Ras al-Ain to Tal Abyad, while Russian and Syrian troops could take control of the rest of the border between Syria and Türkiye. Furthermore, they would make sure that YPG fighters would keep at 30km distance from the border. In spite of the coronavirus emergency, and the cease-fire called by the UN during the pandemic, Turkish armed attacks against Kurdish fighters based in Syria is still ongoing.
The conclusion of the Sochi agreement between Erdogan and Putin rises crucial questions with regard to Syrian consent to the presence of Türkiye. As aforementioned, for an occupation to exist, the lack of consent by the occupied State to the presence of occupying forces is necessary. It is not clear whether Syria has consented to Turkish presence on its territory. Indeed, on the one hand it has been reported that ‘Moscow has persuaded Damascus to cede it control over more territory in the north-east, breaking up Kurdish control.’ On the other hand, ‘Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has raised concern about foreign interference in Syria.’ Furthermore, Article 1 of the Sochi agreement reiterates Turkish ‘commitment to the preservation of the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria.’ Accordingly, based on the information at our disposal, it does not seem possible to reach a decisive conclusion as to the existence of Syrian consent. In any case, it should be noted that consent to an occupation should be explicitly and clearly expressed, all the more so in this case where hostilities between Turkish and Syrian armed forces occur elsewhere. Notably, a number of armed confrontations have been taking place in Idlib at the beginning of 2020.
By launching this attack in December 2020, Syria sought to recapture part of the Idlib region. These confrontations led to direct clashes between Syrian forces, supported by Russia, and Türkiye, with victims on both sides. To end these hostilities, a ceasefire agreement was signed in March 2020 between Russia and Türkiye, again without explicit Syrian involvement. Despite numerous violations, the ceasefire agreement is still in force and the situation has not significantly changed since.
Turkish armed attacks against Kurdish fighters based in Syria is still ongoing with the latest launch of “Operation Claw-Sword” in November 2022. Although Türkiye has continued its occupation and attacks in Syria, in November 2022 President Erdogan signaled possible normalization of relations with Syria. In January and again in March 2023, President al-Assad stated that any meeting with President Erdogan would only occur when ‘Turkey’s “illegal occupation” ended’. Therefore, lacking a clear declaration regarding Syrian consent as well as their attempt to recapture Turkish controlled areas, it seems possible to conclude that Türkiye is occupying part of Syria.
The law of military occupation is set forth in the 1907 Hague Convention (IV) Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its Annex: Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs on Land, the 1949 Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Person in Time of War, and the 1977 Additional Protocl I applicable to international armed conflicts. Both Türkiye and Syria are a party to the 1949 Convention, but only Syria has ratified the 1977 Additional Protocol I. Customary international humanitarian law also applies. In addition to international humanitarian law, international human rights law continues to apply during times of armed conflict.
