page_title: Operation Euphrates Shield
section_title: Tadef and clashes with SDF around Manbij (28 February – 25 March)
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Euphrates Shield / The campaign / Tadef and clashes with SDF around Manbij (28 February – 25 March)
caption_attribution_description: English: US Humvees drive through a village near the city of Manbij in northern Syria.
context_page_description: Operation Euphrates Shield was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkey-aligned Syrian opposition groups 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 Syrian 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 both the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, 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 Islamic State and the People's Protection Units. The long-threatened capture of Manbij, under the de facto control of the Rojava administration, remains unfulfilled. The Turkish occupation of northern Syria is ongoing.
context_section_description: On 26 February 2017, Turkey's protests notwithstanding, the U.S. announced its support for the Manbij Military Council, established by the YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces, and sent special forces and several military convoys to Manbij. On 28 February, Turkish president Erdogan announced that the Turkish-backed forces would assault Manbij after completing their operations in al-Bab as originally planned. He called for the YPG to be moved to the east of the river and ruled out any cooperation with the SDF. Clashes erupted between both sides, with the Turkish-supported rebels quickly advancing through five villages west of the city. On 2 March, the Manbij Military Council announced that it had reached an agreement with Russia to hand over villages to the west of Manbij to the Syrian government in the coming days in order to protect them from being assaulted by Turkish-backed forces. Turkey's foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu requested from the United States to force Kurdish troops to withdraw from Manbij. The SDF later launched a counter-attack, retaking several villages that had been captured by the rebels a day earlier. The Russian General Staff's Sergey Rudosky as well as the United States Department of Defense confirmed on 3 March that the SDF had agreed to hand over villages to the west of Manbij to the Syrian government. Russia and the Syrian government also sent a humanitarian convoy following the deal, which the United States Department of Defense stated also contained military equipment. Rudosky later stated that Syrian Army units had been deployed in the villages under agreement. On 4 March, United States special operations forces were also deployed in Manbij in response to the clashes. The United States military stated that it was done to deter hostile acts, enhance governance and ensure there's no persistent YPG presence.
  On 6 March, Manbij Military Council spokesman Sharfan Darwish said that the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition had boosted its presence in Manbij in response to the clashes between SDF and Turkish-backed forces. He stated that they hadn't requested any reinforcements from SDF or YPG and also added that the implemention of the deal regarding the villages near Manbij had been delayed but it remained in place. He later stated that Syrian Army had taken over positions on one part of the frontline with the Turkish-backed rebels. According to Wladimir van Wilgenburg, Prime Minister Yıldırım meanwhile said that Turkey might abandon its offensive on Manbij since there was no Russian or American support. Clashes were again reported with pro-rebel media stating that the rebels had captured a village to the west of Manbij, pro-Kurdish media however rejected this, saying the attack was repelled. United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, Russia's Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and Turkey's Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar held a joint meeting on 7 March to defuse escalations around Manbij and discussed joint issues relating to regional security. Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işik stated on 16 March that finding a diplomatic solution with the USA and Russia on Manbij was necessary and a military approach would only be considered if diplomacy failed.
  On 25 March, the SAA reported that the Turkish-backed rebels had not taken Tadef, stating that they still controlled the town, though the rebel forces had advanced on the town's northern edges and clashes erupted.
caption: US Humvees drive through a SDF-controlled village near Manbij in an attempt to "deter" the skirmishes between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces[263]
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