Battle of Ras al-Ayn (2019)
| Battle of Ras al-Ayn | |||||
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| Part of the Operation Peace Spring of the Rojava conflict of the Syrian Civil War and the Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict | |||||
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The second Battle of Ras al-Ayn is an ongoing battle in the Syrian Civil War between Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish Free Syrian Army Militia and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
Background
Following the announcement of a US troop withdrawal by President Trump, and the confirmation to Turkey that US troops would not stop a Turkish invasion[1], Turkey made moves to invade Syria via the North East, in an effort to enforce a 30 kilometre safe zone, and attack Kurdish forces in the area, who they claimed to be terrorists threatening Turkey. The announement of the withdrawal of US troops on 7 October came as a suprise to the SDF, however they were somewhat prepared for an invasion, despite the fact that the US had removed fortifications they had built, in order to meet Turkish demands about the enforcement of a safe zone. Turkish forces had removed concrete barrier on the border, and were built up on the border, waiting to attack. Turkish forces, and their allied Turkish Free Syrian Army forces (also referred as Syrian National Army) cross into Syria on 9 October [2] [3] There was large international condemnation of this incursion, and a number of European countries used arms embargoes.
Initial Movements
Small Forward troops crossed into Turkey, moving close to Ras Al-Ayn and Tal Abyad on 9 October [4]. The Town was initially attacked by artillery and aerial bombing by the Turkish air force, which resulted in some of the civilian population fleeing the area, heading south [5]. Reinforced Turkish units proceeded to move towards the town and Tal Abyad.
Turkish forces move into Ras al-Ayn
On 12 October, more Substantive Turkish forces attacked the town, moving into it, with some indications that Turkish forces had moved into the centre of the town. At the same time, the SDF did a tactical retreat, pulling back before the Turkish forces in response to a Turkish artillery bombardment of their areas. Clashes continued in the Industrial district. [6]. The Kurdish Politician Hervin Khalaf and a number of civlians were executed outside the town, caught on a road, by the TFSA[7]. Turkish troops continued to move into the town, gaining control of the Ras al-Ayn's residential center, with some Turkish media sources claiming that the town had been completely captured. However, SDF troops showed video of themsleves still in the town, continuing to engage the Turkish forces [8] Turkish troops continued to gain control of more areas around the town, including adjacent villages, and the M4 motorway, while fighting continued inside areas of the town itself, with the SDF continued to resist [9] On 13 October, SDF forces launched a counter Offensive, pushing back Turkish military and recapturing key points of the town, including the Industrial district [10] [11].By 15 October, the SDF had fully recaptured the town, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other sources [12]. The Kurdish forces also retook some of the nearby M4 motorway. SDF had prepared extensive tunnels under Ras al Ayn, and used them to launch attacks on TFSA militia in the town [13]
References
- ^ Jen Kirby "trump-syria-turkey-erdogan-invasion-kurds" VOX Oct 8, 2019 https://www.vox.com/2019/10/7/20902699/trump-syria-turkey-erdogan-invasion-kurds
- ^ "turkey-invades-syria-in-land-offensive-against-kurdish-militia" Australian Broadcasting Commission 10 Oct 2019 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-10/turkey-invades-syria-in-land-offensive-against-kurdish-militia/11584084
- ^ Helen Regan and Bianca Britton "Syria Turkey Invasion" CNN October 10, 2019 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/09/politics/syria-turkey-invasion-intl-hnk/index.html
- ^ Selcan Hacaoglu and Onur Ant October 9, 2019 "Turkey says its military will cross syrian border shortly" Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/turkey-says-its-military-will-cross-syrian-border-shortly
- ^ Laura Pitel "turkey-launches-offensive-in-northeast-syria" Irish Times Wed, Oct 9, 2019 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/turkey-launches-offensive-in-northeast-syria-1.4045184
- ^ Orhan Coskun, Tom Perry "Turkish forces intensify bombardment around syrian town" Reuters October 12 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-usa/turkish-forces-intensify-bombardment-around-syrian-town-idUSKBN1WR04D
- ^ Orhan Coskun, Tom Perry "Turkish forces intensify bombardment around syrian town" Reuters October 12 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-usa/turkish-forces-intensify-bombardment-around-syrian-town-idUSKBN1WR04D
- ^ turkey-syria-assault-forces-capture-key-border-town-as-troops-push-further-into-syria CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turkey-syria-assault-forces-capture-key-border-town-as-troops-push-further-into-syria-today-2019-10-12/
- ^ "Violent battles continue in areas in Ras Al-Ayn city and its countryside and in the vicinity of Tal Abyad city in conjunction with heavy ground shelling witnessed in the area" Syrian Human rights 14/10/2019http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=143884
- ^ "kurdish-forces-recapture-large-parts-of-ras-al-ayn-kill-many-turkish-back-militants" Southfront https://southfront.org/kurdish-forces-recapture-large-parts-of-ras-al-ayn-kill-many-turkish-back-militants/
- ^ "kurdish-led-forces-retake-most-of-key-city-in-northern-syria" Almar News 2019-10-13 https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/kurdish-led-forces-retake-most-of-key-city-in-northern-syria/
- ^ "Syrian-Observatory-SDF-captures-Syria-s-Ras-al-Ain" http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/10/15/Syrian-Observatory-SDF-captures-Syria-s-Ras-al-Ain-.html
- ^ Lara Seligman Foreign Policy "syrian-kurdish-fighters-mount-counterattack-turkish-sdf-network-of-tunnels" https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/15/syrian-kurdish-fighters-mount-counterattack-turkish-sdf-network-of-tunnels/