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Türkiye Establishes Presence in Syria with 10,000 Soldiers, Dozens of Military Bases

Fighters of an extremist faction backed by Türkiye in the countryside of the city of Al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, last January 8 (AFP)
Fighters of an extremist faction backed by Türkiye in the countryside of the city of Al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, last January 8 (AFP)
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Türkiye Establishes Presence in Syria with 10,000 Soldiers, Dozens of Military Bases

Fighters of an extremist faction backed by Türkiye in the countryside of the city of Al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, last January 8 (AFP)
Fighters of an extremist faction backed by Türkiye in the countryside of the city of Al-Bab, Aleppo Governorate, last January 8 (AFP)

For the past months, Turkish armed forces in northwestern Syria de-escalation zones have carried out redeployment and mergers at military points that were established under a Turkish-Russian agreement in 2017.

According to an agreement within the framework of the Astana talks, Türkiye gained the opportunity to expand its deployment of military points in the areas of contact within de-escalation zones.

The map of Turkish military deployment expanded until mid-2021 to include 113 military sites spread across five governorates: 55 in Aleppo, 43 in Idlib, nine in Raqqa, four in Hasakah, and two in Latakia.

However, the number of those sites was later reduced to 64 because of redeployment operations.

Turkish army deployment in northwestern Syria currently constitutes an obstacle to regime and Russian forces, as well as Iranian militias.

Turkish military points and bases are distributed in a way designed to make it difficult for pro-regime forces to advance towards opposition-held areas without first clashing with the Turkish forces directly.

According to a report published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday, seven Turkish military brigades are currently deployed in Syria de-escalation zones. The brigades are distributed over 49 main military bases.

These bases are tasked with securing logistics support for Turkish forces.

Each combat brigade consists of 1,500 soldiers, meaning that the full number of Turkish forces in de-escalation zones amounts to 10,500 fully equipped soldiers.

Every military base in the region hosts dozens or hundreds of soldiers affiliated to different disciplines, such as engineering, special units, artillery units, missile units, and communication.

These forces are backed by artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, anti-aircraft systems and mine sweepers.

Moreover, every base contains a telecommunication tower of a Turkish mobile network.

Around 200 tanks, 400 armored vehicles, 800 armored personnel carriers and dozens of trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles are stationed in every Turkish base.

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.