Operation Euphrates Shield

Operation Euphrates Shield
	Part of the Turkey–IS conflict, the Rojava conflict, the military intervention against IS, and Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war
	; Turkish-backed opposition control SDF control Syrian Army control Islamic State controlFor a more detailed, up-to-date, interactive map, see here.
Date	24 August 2016 – 29 March 2017; (7 months and 5 days)
Location	Aleppo Governorate, Syria
Action	Turkey and allies secure control of Syria–Turkey border and region between Afrin and Manbij regions.
Result	Turkish and SNA victory Clashes erupt between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and SDF, YPG withdraws to east of Euphrates though Turkey disputes this; 50,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey have returned to the areas which were taken under control since the beginning of the intervention.;
Territorial; changes	Turkish-backed Syrian rebels captured a total of 2,055 square kilometres (793 sq mi), including 230 settlements, increasing FSA-controlled territory in the region to 2,225 square kilometres (859 sq mi); Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-held territory along the Turkish–Syrian border completely captured by the Turkish-backed rebels; Turkish-backed rebels capture all settlements in the Jarabulus area from the SDF; Turkish-backed rebels capture al-Bab from ISIL.; The SDF is prevented from connecting the cantons.; The SDF hand over some territory to the Syrian Army.;
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	540+ civilians killed (per SOHR)

Operation Euphrates Shield (Turkish: Fırat Kalkanı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Syrian Civil War 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 Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on the first day of the operation that it was aimed against both the IS and Syrian Kurdish "terror groups that threaten our country in northern Syria". The objective to capture Manbij, under the de facto control of the AANES administration, that had been promulgated by the Turkish president at the end of February 2017 remained unfulfilled.

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