AKHMEDOV T.A. The Euphrates Shield Military Operation in Northern Syria (2016–2017): Causes, Course, and Geopolitical Results
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.2.11
Teub A. Akhmedov,
Candidate of Sciences (History), Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Economics, Social and Humanitarian and General Educational Sciences, Technical Institute – branch of the North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov, Juzhno-Jakutskaja St, 25, 678960 Neryungri, Russian Federation,
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8651-9123
Abstract. Introduction. The paper examines the background, reasons, beginning, and course of Operation Euphrates Shield, which Turkey conducted in northern Syria in 2016–2017. The immediate reason for the operation was the terrorist threat in the territories bordering Turkey. Methods and materials. Due to the relative recency of the events, their historiography is in its infancy. The main source base for this study is news and analytical materials from American, British, Turkish, Arab, and Kurdish media, mainly published on the Internet. Analysis. The paper reconstructs the chronology of events and actions of the opposing sides and their allies during Operation Euphrates Shield. It also pays attention to the participation of Syrian rebel groups and the complex relationships between all parties to the conflict, including the US-led coalition and Russia. Results. The civil war in Syria and the rapid growth of the influence of terrorist groups gave Turkey the opportunity to extend its influence to the territory of a neighboring state by military means. Operation Euphrates Shield not only struck a blow at ISIS * but also cut through the territory of the Kurdish enclave, but Turkey failed to completely resolve the problem of the presence of Kurdish armed groups in the region.
Key words: Euphrates Shield, Turkey, Syria, Western Kurdistan, ISIS*, Free Syrian Army, People’s Defense Units, Syrian Democratic Forces.
Citation. Akhmedov T.A. The Euphrates Shield Military Operation in Northern Syria (2016–2017): Causes, Course, and Geopolitical Results. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2026, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 129-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.2.11
The Euphrates Shield Military Operation in Northern Syria (2016–2017): Causes, Course, and Geopolitical Results © 2026 by Akhmedov T.A. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 
* A terrorist organization, whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation.
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