The Syrian National Army (SNA) has taken control of the strategically significant Minnigh Airbase as part of “Operation Dawn of Freedom.”
The operation, launched to counter the PKK/YPG‘s plans to establish a terror corridor between Tel Rifat and northeastern Syria, resulted in the recapture of the airbase, located just 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Türkiye’s border.
The airbase had been under the PKK/YPG control since its occupation in 2016.
Previously, Russian and Iranian forces had also used the airbase as a headquarters for distributing military supplies.
The PKK/YPG utilized the site to target areas liberated during the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations.
Fierce clashes between SNA forces and PKK/YPG terrorists are ongoing along the northern, northeastern, eastern, and southern fronts of Tel Rifat.
– ‘Operation Dawn of Freedom’
The SNA launched the operation to thwart the PKK/YPG’s ambitions of creating a terror corridor linking Tel Rifat to northeastern Syria.
After losing substantial territory to opposition forces during operations in Aleppo, Syrian regime forces sought the PKK/YPG’s assistance, inadvertently giving the group a foothold.
The regime subsequently began ceding control of its territory in the region to the PKK/YPG, allowing significant reinforcements and heavy weaponry to be deployed to areas like Tel Rifat.
This prompted the SNA to launch “Operation Dawn of Freedom,” cutting off critical routes between Raqqa and Aleppo to disrupt the PKK/YPG’s corridor plans.
– Situation in Tel Rifat
In February 2016, YPG/PKK terrorists, with Russian air support, captured Tel Rifat and surrounding areas, displacing approximately 250,000 civilians. Many of these displaced individuals sought refuge near the Turkish border.
From Tel Rifat, the PKK/YPG repeatedly launched attacks on settlements and Turkish security forces in the areas secured during the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations.
The group has collaborated with the Assad regime and its allies to retain control of Tel Rifat, which remains a hotspot in the ongoing conflict.
When regime forces withdrew from Tel Rifat following opposition advances in Aleppo, the area fell to PKK/YPG.