Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019 – March 2020)

Overview

The 2019–2020 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed "Dawn of Idlib 2," was a military operation launched by the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and other allied militias against Syrian opposition and allied fighters of the Syrian National Army, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Rouse the Believers Operations Room, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and other rebels during the Syrian civil war. The offensive began on 19 December 2019 and saw Russian-backed pro-Syrian government forces clash with Turkish-backed opposition groups along with leaving 980,000 civilians displaced.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The 2019–2020 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed 'Dawn of Idlib 2,' represented a major push by Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, against a coalition of Turkish-backed opposition factions including the Syrian National Army, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, and the Turkistan Islamic Party. The operation intensified the contest over northwestern Syria, a zone where Russian-backed and Turkish-backed interests were in direct tension. The offensive resulted in roughly 980,000 civilians displaced, underscoring the humanitarian scale of the campaign and the degree to which population centers were caught between the competing military blocs. Combined casualties across both sides exceeded 2,900 killed, reflecting the sustained intensity of the fighting across the offensive's roughly three-month duration.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (9)