Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)
Military operation of the Syrian civil war / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2019–2020 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed "Dawn of Idlib 2,"[3] was a military operation launched by the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and other allied militias against Syrian opposition and allied fighters of the Syrian National Army, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Rouse the Believers Operations Room, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and other rebel and Salafi jihadist[76] forces in Idlib and surrounding governorates during the Syrian civil war. The offensive began on 19 December 2019 and saw Russian-backed pro-Syrian government forces clash with Turkish-backed opposition groups along with leaving 980,000 civilians displaced.[77][78]
Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020) | |||||||||
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Part of the Syrian Civil War and the Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate | |||||||||
Top: Situation in northwestern Syria as of 8 March 2020. Locations of Turkish, Russian, and Iranian outposts are marked. Bottom: Situation along the M4 Highway after the 6 March 2020 ceasefire. Syrian Army control Syrian Opposition control Syrian Army & SDF control | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Syria Russia Iran Allied militias: PMF-affiliated militias Liwa Fatemiyoun[16] Liwa Zainebiyoun[16] Hezbollah[17][18] |
Fateh Mubin operations room[19]
Syrian National Army Rouse the Believers Operations Room[22] Turkistan Islamic Party[23] | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Maj. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan[24][25] (25th Special Forces commander) Maj. Gen. Maher al-Assad[25] (4th Division commander) Brig. Gen. Burhan Rahmun † (commander of 124th Brigade of Republican Guard)[26] Brig. Gen. Ismael Ali †[27] Col. Mazar Farwati †[27] Col. Basil Ali Khaddour † (commander of 6th regiment of 25th Special Forces)[28] Juma al Ahmad †[29] (Baqir Brigade commander) Asghar Pashapour †[23] (IRGC senior commander; Iranian-backed militias overseer) Jaafar al Sadiq †[17][29] (Hezbollah commander) |
Abu Mohammad al-Julani[29] (Turkish Minister of Defense) Lt. Gen Sinan Yayla[38] (2nd Army commander) | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
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Rouse the Believers Operations Room Malhama Tactical[49][21] | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Unknown |
12,000–20,000[48] 22,000–50,000 (total, not all involved)[48] 8,350[55]–20,000[56] 3,500–5,000[48] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
1,449 killed[57] 2 SyAAF Mi-17s shot down[58][59][60] 2 SyAAF SU-24s shot down[61] 1 SyAAF L-39 shot down[62] 21 killed[63] 15 killed[29][64] 8 killed[65][66] 5 killed[67][68] |
1,496 killed[57] 59–73 killed (58-72 soldiers, 1 contractor)[69][note 1] 5–12 TAF combat drones shot down[70][71] | ||||||||
370+ civilians killed (per UN; by February)[72] 470+ civilians killed (per SOHR)[73] 980,000+ civilians displaced from Idlib and Aleppo[74][75] |
By February 2020, pro-government forces had encircled several Turkish observation posts that had been established throughout Idlib governorate.[79][80] On 27 February, after intermittent deadly clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces, Turkey formally intervened in the offensive and announced the beginning of Operation Spring Shield with the aim of pushing Syrian government forces back to pre-offensive frontlines.[81]
On 5 March 2020, a meeting took place between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which they agreed on a ceasefire beginning on 6 March that established a six-kilometer secure corridor along the M4 Highway. The ceasefire also called for joint Turkish–Russian patrols along the highway beginning on 15 March.[82]