2. Governorate-level description of the security situation
2.2 Aleppo governorate
2.2.2 Background of the conflict and armed actors
In July 2012, anti-government armed groups launched an offensive against GoS in northern Syria, seizing the eastern part of Aleppo city, which was split in two.542 Between 2012 and 2016, the city remained divided between the GoS-controlled west and rebel-controlled east.543 A number of opposition armed groups, including Jabhat Fateh-al Sham (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, currently part of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham] and factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) controlled the east part of the city.544 In September 2015, Russia’s military intervention in the war began, at the request of the GoS. Russia began a sustained campaign of air strikes in support of the GoS forces, which thereby gradually managed to reclaim areas from the rebel groups, including the eastern districts of Aleppo in December 2016.545 The fall of the rebel-held eastern Aleppo in December 2016 came after a prolonged siege546 in which between 250 000 and 275 000 residents were still living in the rebel-held parts.547
Following defeats at the hands of rebel groups in other areas, the GoS forces retreated from north-east Syria leaving predominantly Kurdish inhabited areas abandoned.548 This allowed the Kurds to gain greater autonomy and in early 2014 to establish a governing confederation in the three now called
‘cantons’ of Afrin, Kobane [Ain Al-Arab] and Jazira (Hasaka governorate).549
Other parts of the governorate came under ISIL control550 but GoS forces, backed by Russia, and the SDF coalition, supported by US special forces, gradually succeeded in defeating ISIL.551 Some previously ISIL-held areas in the governorate were subsequently occupied by Turkish troops and anti-GoS armed groups allied with Turkey.552 In 2016, Turkey launched operation Euphrates Shield in northern Aleppo governorate to fight ISIL and contain YPG gains in the area, capturing the al-Bab area553, including Jarabulus and other towns.554 In January 2018, Turkish and affiliated local armed groups then launched an offensive dubbed Operation Olive Branch on the Kurdish-held Afrin district, in Aleppo governorate555 which concluded in March 2018 when Turkish authorities announced complete control of the Afrin region.556
542 Balanche, F., Sectarianism in Syria’s Civil War, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2018, url, p. 44; BBC News, Profile:
Aleppo, Syria's second city, 28 November 2016, url
543 Balanche, F., Sectarianism in Syria’s Civil War, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2018, url, p. 44
544 Netherlands (The), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Country of Origin Information Report Syria. The security situation, July 2019, url, p. 33
545 Lund, A., Syria’s Civil War. Government Victory or Frozen Conflict?, Swedish Defence Research Agency, December 2018, url, pp. 21-22
546 AI, ‘We Leave or We Die’: Forced Displacement under Syria’s ‘Reconciliation’ Agreements, 2017, url, p. 34-35; UNOCHA, East Aleppo Crisis Situation Report No.3, 4 October 2016, url, p. 1
547 AI, ‘We Leave or We Die’: Forced Displacement under Syria’s ‘Reconciliation’ Agreements, 2017, url, p. 34
548 Wimmen, H. and Seluck, M., The Rise of Syria’s Kurds, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 5 February 2013, url
549 BBC News, Syria conflict: Kurds declare federal system, 17 March 2016, url
550 Wilson Center, Syria, n.d, url; Wilson Center, Timeline: the Rise, Spread, and Fall of the Islamic State, 28 October 2019, url
551 Lund, A., Syria’s Civil War. Government Victory or Frozen Conflict?, Swedish Defence Research Agency, December 2018, url, pp. 21-22
552 Lund, A., Syria’s Civil War. Government Victory or Frozen Conflict?, Swedish Defence Research Agency, December 2018, url, pp. 21-22
553 International Crisis Group, Squaring the Circles in Syria’s North East, 31 July 2019, url, p. 7
554 BBC News, Turkey 'ends' Euphrates Shield campaign in Syria, 30 March 2017, url
555 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic [A/HRC/39/65], 9 August 2018, url, p. 5; al-Hilu, K., Afrin Under Turkish Control: Political, Economic and Social Transformations, European University Institute, 25 July 2019, url, p. 3
556 al-Hilu, K., Afrin Under Turkish Control: Political, Economic and Social Transformations, European University Institute, 25 July 2019, url, p. 3
As of March 2020 , the southern part of Aleppo governorate, including the city of Aleppo was under the control of pro-GoS forces.558 Sheikh Maqsoud district, a Kurdish majority district in Aleppo city, was reported to be under SDF control by confidential sources interviewed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.559
The Kurdish-led SDF controlled an enclave north of Aleppo city around Tal Rifaat – known as the Tal Rifaat triangle560, as well as parts in the north-east of governorate including Manbij and Kobane.561 According to the Carter Center, ‘the Tal Rifaat area is under joint control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and government aligned forces since late 2016. Russian forces had also been conducting joint patrols with Turkish troops in the area since 14 February 2019, and with SDF forces since 26 March 2019’.562 An October 2019 agreement between Russia and Turkey envisaged the creation of a ‘safe zone’ in Manbij and Tel Rifaat, whereby the YPG would withdraw from the area and the GoS would take over. As of November 2019, the YPG had not withdrawn from Tal Rifaat.563 Earlier in October, Russia announced that YPG forces withdrew from both Manbij and Tal Rifaat.564
In northern Aleppo governorate, opposition armed groups comprised under the SNA umbrella backed by Turkey controlled the area between the cities of Afrin, Azaz, Al-Bab and Jarabulus.565
The western parts of the governorate were under the control of HTS566 and local opposition groups.567
2.2.2.1 Syrian Arab Army and affiliated armed groups
According to Gregory Waters of International Review, deployments of the SAA in Aleppo governorate in 2019 included predominantly units of the Republican Guard and of the 4th Division. Below is a list of known deployments of SAA units that operated in the province and the last known date of their deployment, as of 17 March 2020.
Republican Guard:
Aleppo Special Tasks Battalion – Idlib Province – 4 March 2020
Aleppo Special Tasks Battalion/Yiman Bilouni Group – Sukhna, Homs – 1 June 2019
10th Division – Kobani, Aleppo – 14 October 2019
100th Artillery Regiment – Manbij, Aleppo – 22 October 2019
152nd Regiment – Aleppo – 5 December 2019
104th Brigade – Manbij, Aleppo – 20 October 2019
105th Brigade/unknown unit – Kobani, Aleppo – 19 October 2019
106th Brigade – Manbij, Aleppo – 19 October 2019
124th Brigade – Zerbah, Aleppo – 28 February 2020
557 Based on reading of the following map: Liveuamap, Syria, 1 March 2020, url
558 Based on reading of the map: ISW, Syria Situation report: January 8-21, 2020, 24 January 2020, url
559 Netherlands (The), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Country of Origin Information Report Syria. The security situation, July 2019, url, p. 33
560 Netherlands (The), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Country of Origin Information Report Syria. The security situation, July 2019, url, p. 33
561 Based on reading of the map: ISW, Syria Situation report: January 8-21, 2020, 24 January 2020, url ; Liveuamap, Syria, 5 February 2020, url
562 Carter Center, Weekly Conflict Summary, 15 – 21 April 2019, url, p. 3
563 Al Monitor, Displaced Syrians demand to return, seek regime-YPG exit, 21 November 2019, url
564 Reuters, Russia tells Turkey Kurdish fighters have left NE Syrian border area: Erdogan, 29 October 2019, url
565 OHCHR, Between a Rock and a Hard Place – Civilians in North-western Syria, June 2018, url, p. 1; Lund, A., Syria’s Civil War: Government Victory or Frozen Conflict?, Swedish Defence Research Agency, December 2018, url, p. 53
566 MEE, Syrian government forces set to enter iconic rebel stronghold, 27 January 2020, url; SOHR, HTS opens new front in Jam’eyyat Al-Zahraa west of Aleppo with fierce attack initiated by three car-bomb explosions, 01 February 2020, url; Al Masdar News, Jihadists of HTS build new trenches and tunnels along west Aleppo front: video, 16 December 2019, url
567 Netherlands (The), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Country of Origin Information Report Syria. The security situation, July 2019, url, p. 33
124th Brigade/873rd Battalion – Zerbah, Aleppo – 28 February 2020 4th Division:
Lebanese Baath Forces – West Aleppo – 29 January 2020
42nd Brigade/185th Bat/Hourarya Group – West Aleppo – 26 January 2020
42nd Brigade/Zakiyah & Bakara Battalions – West Aleppo – 26 January 2020
42nd Brigade/Unknown Rocket Unit – Zahraa, Aleppo – 1 February 2020
42nd Brigade/Muhind Jadid Battalion – Aleppo – 8 January 2020
42nd Brigade/Muqdad Battalion – West Aleppo – 14 February 2020
42nd Brigade/Shams Group – West Aleppo – 8 February 2020
42nd Brigade/Raoud Battalion – Aleppo – 8 January 2020
42nd Brigade/Marwan Kamal al-Deen Groups – Aleppo – 15 February 2020
42nd Brigade/Yalda Group – West Aleppo – 8 February 2020
42nd Brigade/Abbas al-Lord Group – Aleppo – 15 January 2020
42nd Brigade/al-Haji Group – Aleppo – 15 January 2020
42nd Brigade/Abu Yahya Groups – Aleppo – 15 January 2020
42nd Brigade/Ighwani Group – Ithriya, Aleppo – 24 January 2020 2nd Corps, 1st Division:
57th Brigade/846th Battalion – Manbij, Aleppo – 27 March 2019
68th Brigade/282nd Battalion – Manbij, Aleppo – 30 January 2019 5th Corps:
4th Brigade/Fuah & Kafraya Battalions – Aleppo – 15 February 2020 Border Guards:
12th Regiment – Kobani, Aleppo – 26 October 2019.568
In early January 2020, sources reported the arrival in Aleppo governorate of GoS special forces units569, included the 42nd Brigade of the 4th Armored Division.570
At the end of September 2019, it was reported that Russian forces were being deployed in northern Aleppo governorate, and weapons were sent to the area around the city of Tal Rifaat.571 Tal Riffaat hosts a Russian military base.572 During the October 2019 Turkish-led offensive into north-east Syria, GoS forces, accompanied by Russian forces, were reported to be deployed in Kurdish-controlled territories, including the cities of Manbij573 and Kobane574 in Aleppo governorate.575 This deployments came after the GoS and the Kurdish controlled SDF announced an agreement that allowed the GoS troops to be deployed along the border with Turkey to assist Kurdish forces in repelling the Turkish offensive.576
568 Waters, G., Current Syrian Army Deployments, International Review, 13 December 2019, url
569 SOHR, Regime mobilizes forces at Idlib and Aleppo frontlines and 34 soldiers and fighters killed in today’s clashes, 2 January 2020, url; Al Masdara News, Syrian Army reinforcements pour into Aleppo as large-scale offensive approaches, 3 January 2020, url
570 Carter Center, Weekly Conflict Summary, 30 December 2019 – 5 January 2020, url, p. 3
571 SOHR, Syrian Army, Russian Forces Deploy Reinforcements In Southeastern Idlib & Northern Aleppo, 29 September 2019, url
572 SOHR, Turkish forces shell Tal Rifaat town hosting Russian military base, 28 February 2020, url
573 DW, Russia-backed Syrian forces enter key city Manbij in northern Syria, 15 October 2019, url
574 Defense Post (The), Syrian army troops enter symbolic Kurdish city of Kobani, 16 October 2019, url
575 Reuters, Syrian Observatory: government forces deploy to Ain Issa in northern Syria, 14 October 2019, url; New Yorker (The), Turkey, Syria, the Kurds, and Trump’s Abandonment of Foreign Policy, 20 October 2019, url
576 Al Jazeera, Syria's army to deploy along Turkey border as Kurds strike deal, 14 October 2019, url
In November 2019, Russian aircraft and troops took over an abandoned US air base in northern Aleppo governorate, close to the border with Turkey.577
Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR)578 representatives interviewed by the Danish Immigration Service (DIS) in November 2018 stated that the due to limited capacity, GoS uses up to 15-20 affiliated militias to control cities under their territorial control, including Aleppo city.579 According to a June 2019 article, the IRGC and Iran-backed militias were reportedly in control of eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo city.580 Experts cited by Al Jazeera assessed that Aleppo is ‘one of the main areas where IRGC enjoys a strong military presence supporting local militias’ that have been fighting alongside GoS forces.581
Iran-backed militias fighting on the side of the GoS were also taking part in military offensive against anti-government groups in Aleppo and Idlib governorates. During 2019, Iranian militias were present in the governorate and took part in military operations.582 Iranian-backed forces were reported to take part in military operations in Aleppo governorate in early 2020.583 In February 2020, an IRGC member dubbed as ‘Soleimani’s guard’ was killed in a battle ‘with militant groups’ in southern Aleppo governorate, according to Iranian sources.584
2.2.2.2 Syrian National Army
According to COAR writing in October 2019, the most powerful and influential armed groups in the SNA are: ‘the Sultan Muhammad Al-Fatih Brigade and the Muntasir Billah Brigade (both based in Jarablus); Jaish Al-Islam (based in Jarablus and Al Bab); Sultan Murad (based in Al Bab); Fariq Hamza (based in Azaz); the Al-Mutassim Brigade (based in Azaz and Al Bab); and Jabhat Shamiya (based in Ar-Ra’ee)’.585 The factions with the closest relationship with Turkey are named after Ottoman sultans such as the Sultan Suleyman Shah Brigade and the Sultan Murad Division, and were responsible for the protection of areas of Afrin that border Turkey. As of July 2019, a European University Institute study estimated the strength of the SNA at 30 000 fighters, who received wages and weapons supplies from Turkey.586
While nominally the SNA is a unified structure that sits under the formal supervision of the so called Syrian Interim Government’s Ministry of Defence587, the constituent groups ‘each answer directly to Turkey and maintains its pre- National Army form’.588 The CoI noted in an August 2019 report that factions of the SNA have split the areas under their control into geographic zones of influence.589 Competition over local resources and diverse regional background of the constituent factions were
577 Business Insider, Russian forces just occupied a former US air base in Syria, 15 November 2019, url
578 COAR is a social enterprise that provides research and analysis related to the conflict in Syria as part of an EU-funded project. For more information see url
579 Denmark, DIS, DRC, Syria. Security Situation in Damascus. Province and Issues Regarding Return to Syria, February 2019, url, p. 56
580 Syrian Observer (The), Pro-Iran Militants Loot Aleppo’s Antiquities, 27 June 2019, url
581 Al Jazeera, Syrian military: Israeli air attack targeted Aleppo, 28 March 2019, url
582 Syrian Observer (The), Aleppo: Tension Between Russia and Iran Escalates in the Markets, 7 August 2019, url; DW, Syria:
Jihadis kill dozens of government soldiers in Aleppo, 27 April 2019, url; Al Jazeera, Syrian military: Israeli air attack targeted Aleppo, 28 March 2019, url
583 Al Monitor, What brought Iranian forces to Idlib front?, 5 February 2020, url
584 Asharq Al-Awsat, Iran Announces Death of Soleimani's Guard in Southern Aleppo, 4 February 2020, url
585 COAR, Northern Corridor. Needs Oriented Strategic Area Profile, October 2019, url, p. 41
586 al-Hilu, K., Afrin Under Turkish Control: Political, Economic and Social Transformations, European University Institute, 25 July 2019, url, pp. 5-6
587 al-Hilu, K., Afrin Under Turkish Control: Political, Economic and Social Transformations, European University Institute, 25 July 2019, url, p. 5
588 COAR, Northern Corridor. Needs Oriented Strategic Area Profile, October 2019, url, p. 9
589 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic [A/HRC/42/51], 15 August 2019, url, p. 11
considered to be the main sources of tension between the SNA. Clashes and asymmetric attacks between factions have been frequently reported, with Turkey generally acting as the mediator.590
Map 7: © COAR, Presence of SNA factions in northern Aleppo governorate591
2.2.2.3 Syrian Democratic Forces
The SDF forces were in control of the Kurdish occupied areas around the cities of Manbij and Kobane, which were captured from ISIL in 2016 and 2015, respectively.592 In October 2019, the GoS and the Kurdish-controlled SDF announced an agreement that allowed the GoS troops to be deployed along the border with Turkey to assist Kurdish forces in repelling the Turkish offensive.593
GoS forces, accompanied by Russian forces, were subsequently deployed to the cities of Manbij594 and Kobane.595 Christopher Kozak of ISW assessed in November 2019 that the SDF are still in control on the ground in Kurdish-controlled territories and there has not been a governance handover to the
590 COAR, Northern Corridor. Needs Oriented Strategic Area Profile, October 2019, url, pp. 39, 41
591 COAR, Northern Corridor. Needs Oriented Strategic Area Profile, October 2019, url, p. 42
592 Defense Post (The), Syrian government forces set to enter Kobani and Manbij in SDF deal, 13 October 2019, url
593 Al Jazeera, Syria's army to deploy along Turkey border as Kurds strike deal, 14 October 2019, url
594 DW, Russia-backed Syrian forces enter key city Manbij in northern Syria, 15 October 2019, url; New Yorker (The), Turkey, Syria, the Kurds, and Trump’s Abandonment of Foreign Policy, 20 October 2019, url
595 Reuters, Syrian Observatory: government forces deploy to Ain Issa in northern Syria, 14 October 2019, url; Defense Post (The), Syrian army troops enter symbolic Kurdish city of Kobani, 16 October 2019, url; New Yorker (The), Turkey, Syria, the Kurds, and Trump’s Abandonment of Foreign Policy, 20 October 2019, url
Syrian government following the agreement. As previously mentioned, the SDF and GoS were also in joint control of the Tal Rifaat area.597
2.2.2.4 Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
The CoI reported in January 2019 that HTS together with other anti-GoS armed groups ‘maintained their foothold’ in western Aleppo governorate.598 In early 2019 HTS took over large parts of Idlib and western Aleppo governorate following clashes with other anti-GoS armed groups in the region, including the NLF599, among others.600 The CoI stated in an August 2019 report that HTS control over 90 % of Idlib governorate, alongside adjacent parts of northern Hama and western Aleppo governorates.601 Sources interviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands stated ‘the west of Aleppo province is under the control of local opposition groups’.602 HTS presence603, control and military operations in western Aleppo governorate was reported during 2019.604