By ISW Syria Team and Syria Direct
Opposition
groups backed by Turkey in Operation Euphrates Shield seized full
control over Al-Bab in Northern Aleppo Province as well as
two neighboring towns, ending more than three months of heavy clashes. The
fall of Al-Bab will enable Turkish President Recep Erdogan to pursue his next
stated strategic priorities in Northern Syria – including an offensive to expel
the Syrian Kurdish YPG from Manbij in Eastern Aleppo Province. Turkish
Defense Minister Fikri Isik warned that Turkey will “reevaluate”
military operations against the town if the U.S. does not ensure
the imminent withdrawal of the Syrian Kurdish YPG from Manbij.
Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura opened
the Geneva IV Talks between regime and opposition delegations with
the goal of reaching a political solution to the Syrian Civil War. The
negotiations nonetheless appear primed to fail amidst deteriorating conditions
on the ground - including an increasingly unstable nationwide ceasefire and a
continued consolidation of power by Al-Qaeda in Syria.
These graphics mark the latest installment of our Syria SITREP Map made possible through a partnership between the Institute for the Study of War and Syria Direct. The graphic depicts significant recent developments in the Syrian Civil War. The control of terrain represented on the graphic is accurate as of February 16, 2017.
