The town and district are named after the Afrin River. The city is split into two distinct halves by the river. As a result of Operation Olive Branch, the People's Protection Units withdrew after the city's encirclement from Afrin on 17 March 2018, and the Syrian National Army and Turkish Armed Forces captured Afrin the next day, bringing it under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. While thousands fled as the SDF retreated, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people remained in Afrin city after the Turkish and Syrian National Army capture.