Turkish occupation of northern Syria
Turkey's military occupation since 2016 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Turkish Armed Forces and its ally the Syrian National Army have occupied[10][11] areas of northern Syria since August 2016, during the Syrian Civil War. Though these areas nominally acknowledge a government affiliated with the Syrian opposition, in practice they constitute a separate proto-state[12] under the dual authority of decentralized native local councils and Turkish military administration.
Turkish occupation zone of northern Syria | |
---|---|
Capital | Azaz[5] |
Official languages | |
Government | Provisional government (dual authority of decentralized local councils and military administration) |
• President | Hadi al-Bahra |
• Prime Minister | Abdurrahman Mustafa |
• Minister of Defence | Salim Idris |
Self-governance under military occupation | |
24 August 2016 | |
20 January 2018 | |
9 October 2019 | |
Area | |
• Total | 8,835[7][8][9] km2 (3,411 sq mi) |
Currency | Syrian pound, Turkish lira,[2] United States dollar |
Turkish-controlled areas of Syria comprise a 8,835-square-kilometre area encompassing over 1,000 settlements, including towns such as al-Bab, Azaz, Jarabulus, Rajo, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. The majority of these settlements had been captured from the Islamic State (IS) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) groups, both of which have been designated as terrorist organisations by the Turkish government, though the SDF is not seen this way by most of the international community, notably including the United States and European Union. Some towns, including Azaz, were also under the control of the Syrian opposition before Turkish intervention. The Syrian Interim Government moved into the Turkish-controlled territories and began to extend partial authority there, including providing documents to Syrian citizens. These areas are referred to as "safe zones" by Turkish authorities.[13] The occupation has allegedly led to human rights abuses in some areas, including ethnic cleansing.[14][15][16][17]