section_path: Aftermath/Turkish offensive in northern Syria
section_name: Turkish offensive in northern Syria
paragraph_text: Turkish offensive in northern Syria
  
  Following the start of the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF governs the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), a de facto autonomous region in northeast Syria. Turkish officials have called for the elimination of the Kurdish YPG, the SDF's main faction, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened military intervention to force the region's reintegration into Syria. The offensive is aimed at expanding Turkish-controlled territory and dismantling Kurdish self-governance in post-Assad Syria.
  
  On 30 November 2024, the SNA commenced Operation Dawn of Freedom with the objective of cutting off the SDF's supply lines and establishing a corridor connecting al-Bab, which has been under Turkish occupation since 2017, to the SDF-controlled town of Tell Rifaat. With the support of the Turkish Air Force, the SNA successfully captured Tel Rifaat and several surrounding villages from Kurdish forces. Turkey and the SNA subsequently launched an offensive against the SDF-controlled city of Manbij, pushing SDF forces eastward beyond the Euphrates river to enable the SNA to advance toward the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani. The SDF has repelled several SNA attempts to invade the Kobani area, but the Turkish and SNA bombardment of SDF-controlled territories has continued into 2025. The SDF agreed to integrate into state institutions on 10 March 2025.