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Afrin

Young Kurdish men line up to sign up to join Syrian government's General Security forces at a police station in Afrin, Syria, an area in the country's north from which Kurds were forcibly displaced years ago, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
August 23, 2025, 12:53 pm
Syria security forces’ push to recruit Kurds, religious minorities brings hope, skepticism
Initiative comes after UN-backed commission that investigated sectarian violence recommended authorities increase diversity in security forces to gain trust of communities
By OMAR ALBAM and ABBY SEWELL
File: Turkish-backed Syrian Arab fighters stand in the back of a vehicle after seizing control of the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on March 18, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC)
July 10, 2023, 6:51 pm
Syrian Kurdish fighters kill 5 Turkish-backed opposition forces, say activists
Violence in northern town of Afrin is the latest in a monthslong escalation between opposing groups in Syria and Iraq
By BASSEM MROUE
Screen capture from video of a newborn baby who was rescued from rubble following an earthquake in Syria, February 7, 2023. (Twitter. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
February 7, 2023, 2:52 pm
Baby said born under rubble in Syria is rescued, while mother dies
Video shows moment tiny child covered in dust is pulled to safety; parents were reportedly both killed by quakes that devastated region
By ToI Staff
A fireball erupts from the site of an explosion that reportedly targeted a joint Turkish-Russian patrol on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Ariha in the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, on July 14, 2020. (Mohammed Al-Rifai/AFP)
September 26, 2021, 2:57 pm
Alleged Russian airstrike kills at least 7 Turkey-backed fighters in north Syria
Attack on Hamza Division comes amid increasing tensions between Assad’s forces and insurgent groups who still have a stronghold in parts of the country
By AP
Illustrative: Displaced Syrians ride in the back of a truck towards the Deir al-Ballut checkpoint to return to their villages in Afrin's countryside in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, along the border with Turkey, on April 22, 2020. (Rami al Sayed/AFP)
April 28, 2020, 6:23 pm
Bombing in north Syrian town of Afrin kills 20 civilians
Several others wounded in attack using fuel tanker, blamed on Syrian Kurdish fighters
By AP
US soldiers, left, sit in a house turned into an outpost on a road leading to the tense front line between US-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council fighters and Turkish-backed fighters, at Halawanji village, north of Manbij town, Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
April 4, 2018, 6:12 pm
Trump advisers urge against hasty American retreat from Syria
Pentagon officials fear Islamic State will regroup in Deir el-Zour after many US-backed Kurds shifted focus to fighting Turkish forces around Afrin
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, (r), Russia's President Vladimir Putin, (c), and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani pose for the media members in Sochi, Russia, November 22. 2017. (Kayhan Ozer/Pool via AP)
April 4, 2018, 8:54 am
Turkey hosts critical summit on Syria war with Russia, Iran
Despite some conflicting interests, second tripartite meeting could bear significant results as countries seek to bolster their influence in embattled country if US withdraws
By Raziye AKKOC and Ezzedine SAID
Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during the AK Party's parliamentary group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in Ankara on March 20, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / HAKAN GOKTEPE)
March 24, 2018, 7:01 pm
Turkish president brands anti-war students ‘terrorists’
After fight at Bogazici University over Afrin offensive, Erdogan vows to kick out ‘communist, traitor youth’
By Agencies
A picture taken on March 22, 2018, shows a man walking with a loaded donkey and followed by a dog past the rubble of a destroyed building in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin. (AFP PHOTO / Nazeer al-Khatib)
March 24, 2018, 7:01 pm
Macron expresses ‘concern’ over Turkish offensive in Afrin
French leader tells President Erdogan civilians in Kurdish-majority city must be given full access to humanitarian aid
By AFP
Syrian civilians ride their cars through Ain Dara in Syria's northern Afrin region, as they flee the city of Afrin on March 12, 2018, amid battles between Turkish-backed forces and Kurdish fighters. (AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)
March 20, 2018, 2:23 pm
Erdogan tells US to end ‘deception’ on Syria
Turkish president accuses NATO ally of misleading his country by arming Kurdish militias, which Ankara considers terror groups
By AFP
File: Turkish-backed Syrian Arab fighters stand in the back of a vehicle after seizing control of the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on March 18, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC)
March 19, 2018, 1:14 am
What does Turkey’s seizure of Afrin mean for Syria war?
Ankara may move refugee populations back over border after taking control of Kurdish area, enlarging its territory
By AFP
Syrian civilians fleeing the city of Afrin in northern Syria are seen as they enter the town of Tal Rifaat in the government-controlled part of the northern Aleppo province, on March 18, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN)
March 18, 2018, 12:13 pm
Turkish-backed forces say Syria’s Afrin under their control
Kurds deny they have fled as Syrian fighters allied with Ankara move in, but say civilians evacuated because of ‘massacres’
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Civilians fleeing the city of Afrin in northern Syria walk at the mountainous road of al-Ahlam while heading towards the check point in az-Ziyarah, in the government-controlled part of the northern Aleppo province, on March 16, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN)
March 17, 2018, 1:13 pm
More than 200,000 civilians flee Syria’s Afrin in three days
War monitor says ongoing Turkish offensive against US-backed Kurdish militia displacing tens of thousands in YPG-held enclave
By AFP
This photo shows Syrian civilians with their belongings, fleeing from fighting between the Syrian government forces and rebels, in eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, March. 15, 2018. (SANA via AP)
March 16, 2018, 3:07 pm
Thousands flee violence in mass exodus from Syrian towns
Some 42,000 refugees flee eastern Ghouta in largest single-day exodus of civilians during years-long civil war
By Sarah El Deeb and PHILIP ISSA
File: A picture taken in the northern town of Afrin on February 2, 2018, shows smoke from burning tires, used to block the visibility of planes, billowing in the background as people walk on a bridge. (AFP/Delil Souleiman)
March 16, 2018, 1:49 pm
Syrian Kurds say Turkish shelling, strikes kill 20 in Afrin
Turkish military urges tens of thousands of residents still inside the town to leave and Kurdish militiamen to surrender
By PHILIP ISSA
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