The Northern Aleppo offensive (February–July 2014) was a

military offensive An offensive is a military operation that seeks through an aggressive projection of armed forces to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational, or tactical goal. Another term for an offensive often used by ...

launched by armed

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian govern ...

forces led by the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

against the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

in the northern

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of ...

. The offensive resulted in ISIL's withdrawal from the city of

Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

Menagh Military Airbase Menagh Military Air Base (or Minnigh airport, Minakh Air Base) ( ar, قَاعِدَة مَطَار مِنِّغ, Qāʿidat Maṭār Minniḡ) is a Syrian Air Force installation located south of Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, Syria near the village of ...

, and a number of towns and villages in the area.

Background

ISIL captured the city of

from the Northern Storm Brigade in September 2013. This resulted in the closure of the Bab al-Salam border crossing from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

further north. The Northern Storm Brigade and the

al-Tawhid Brigade The al-Tawhid Brigade ( ar-at, لواء التوحيد, Liwa al-Tawhid, lit=Brigade of monothiesim), named after Tawhid, the "oneness of God," but often mistranslated as Unity Brigade, was an armed Islamist insurgent group involved in the Syria ...

withdrew from the city and were stationed in its outskirts. Full-blown conflict between ISIL and other rebel groups erupted in January 2014. In the first few days of the conflict,

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

and

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...

brokered a ceasefire agreement with ISIL in the city of Aleppo and its northern countryside. However, ISIL continued its attacks on other rebel groups and killed more than 24 rebel fighters across northern Syria. The newly created

Army of Mujahideen Jaysh al-Mujahideen , native_name_lang= Ar , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of the Army of Mujahedeen (Syria).svg , caption = Logo of the Army of Mujahideen , active = 2 January 2014 – 25 January 2017 , ide ...

also pledged to fight ISIL in both Aleppo and

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

The offensive

First phase

On 13 February 2014, the Kurdish Front Brigade, the Northern Storm Brigade, and the Descendents of Messengers Brigade declared the beginning of a battle to recapture Azaz and the rest of northern Aleppo from ISIL,

code name A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

d the Battle of Dignity. The groups declared the front to be a

military exclusion zone A military exclusion zone (MEZ) is an area in the immediate vicinity of a military action established by a country to prevent the unauthorized entry of civilian personnel/equipment for their own safety or to protect natural assets already in place ...

and warned civilians to leave the area. The first clashes began in the village of

Maryamin, Afrin Maryamin ( ar, مريمين, also spelled Mariamein, Maryamayn, Mreimin Afrin or Maryamayn Afrin) is a village in northwestern Aleppo Governorate northwestern Syria. Administratively, the village belongs to Nahiya Afrin in Afrin District. Nearby l ...

and resulted in the Kurdish Front capturing the village. Clashes spread to

Deir Jamal Deir Jmal ( ar, دير جمال) is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located north of Aleppo, it is administratively part of Nahiya Tell Rifaat in A'zaz District. Nearby localities include Tell Rifaat and Mare' to the e ...

and several other villages. The top commander of the Kurdish Front, Alaa Ajabu, was killed in action during the fighting 4 days later. By 28 February, ISIL forces withdrew from Azaz,

, Deir Jamal, and several other villages. ISIL forces from the area retreated to their strongholds of

al-Bab Al-Bab ( ar, الْبَاب / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a city, ''de jure'' administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of December 2016, the city is under the control of pro-Turkish militias, as part of t ...

Jarabulus Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies o ...

and

Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Ce ...

in eastern Aleppo.

Second phase

On 16 May 2014, 9 rebel groups formed the "Free Syria Operations Room", announced the beginning of the "Battle of Northern Earthquake", and declared the northern and eastern countrysides of Aleppo a military zone. Clashes took place in and near the town of al-Rai. ISIL reinforcements then arrived in al-Rai from Jarabulus to fight the rebels. In July 2014, ISIL launched a large-scale counter-offensive and recaptured the village of Bahwartah, north of

Akhtarin Akhtarin ( ar, أخترين, Akhtarīn) is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. The largest town and administrative centre of Nahiya Akhtarin of the A'zaz District has a population of 5,305 in the 2004 census. Located nor ...

, as well as 5 other villages. However, the

and the Tawhid Brigade soon recaptured 3 of these villages. In response to the ISIL offensive, 11 rebel groups threatened to withdraw from the frontlines in the area due to the lack of support.

Aftermath

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Aleppo offensive (2014 02-07) Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2014 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Free Syrian Army Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the al-Nusra Front