Türkiye’s military presence in Syria was established in 2016.289 Sources varyingly estimated that there were some 10 000290 or 20 000 Turkish troops in Syria,291 based in the country’s north, including around Afrin, Ras Al-Ain and Tell Abyad.292 The Turkish parliament in October 2025 approved a three-year extension of military deployments in the country.293 In February 2026, the Turkish government acknowledged its active military support for the Syrian transitional government’s offensive against the SDF (deemed a ‘terrorist’-linked organisation by Turkish officials) and emphasised that Turkish forces would not withdraw from Syria in the foreseeable future, invoking national security concerns.294
- 289
CATS, Visualising Turkey’s Foreign Policy Activism (Update) [Map], 10 December 2025, url
- 290
STJ, Northern Syria: Communication to UN Special Procedures Regarding Ongoing Violations of Property Rights in the Operation Peace Spring Area, 5 August 2025, url
- 291
CATS, Visualising Turkey’s Foreign Policy Activism (Update) [Map], 10 December 2025, url
- 292
STJ, Northern Syria: Communication to UN Special Procedures Regarding Ongoing Violations of Property Rights in the Operation Peace Spring Area, 5 August 2025, url
- 293
New Arab (The), No exit in sight: Why Turkey is keeping troops in Syria and Iraq, 16 February 2026, url
- 294
Nordic Monitor, Turkey admits military support of Syria’s new Islamist rulers while refusing to pull troops from Iraq, Syria, 2 March 2026, url