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Paradigm Shift in Syria After Afrin
by Michael Goodyear[SmallWarsJournal] On March 18, after two months of the Turkish military repeatedly shelling the Kurdish-held city of Afrin, Turkish-backed Syrian rebels occupied the city. Turkey’s campaign into Syria began a year and a half ago, initially focusing on uprooting the Islamic State. But with the sharp decline in power of the Islamic State following the fall of its de facto capital, Raqqa, Turkey has redirected its focus onto Kurdish forces in Syria. The capture of Afrin creates another power shift in Syria in favor of both Turkey and the Assad government, as well as possibly the Islamic State, at the expense of the Kurds but also the rebels. The Syrian civil war has been anything but one-sided from the very start. The Assad regime (government forces), the loosely connected Syrian rebels (anti-government forces), the Kurds and assorted allies (Syrian Democratic Forces), and the Islamic State are the four major military factions in Syria. Their fortunes have been greatly aided and hindered by the support and opposition of foreign powers, including the United States, Russia, and Turkey. Posted by: 3dc 2018-04-01 |
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