Turkey deepens roots, spreads influence in Syria’s rebel north

Areas will not be part of Turkey officially, but Ankara will be de facto ruler, experts say

“Brotherhood has no limits.” The phrase is painted in Arabic and Turkish on a wall in Azaz, the town at the heart of Turkey’s de facto protectorate in northern Syria.

From Turkish-language classes for Syrian children to the state-owned Turk Telekom company erecting its first cell towers on Syrian soil, Ankara’s role in the rebel-held region around Azaz has been expanding.

“All the support we receive is Turkish - education, services, and so on,” said Mohammad Hamdan Keno, 64, head of the Azaz Local Council (ALC), which governs the town.

Like the rest of his hometown, his desk in the ALC’s headquarters is adorned with both the three-star flag of the Syrian uprising and Ankara’s red-andwhite crescent emblem.

Turkey began providing humanitarian, political and military backing to Syria’s opposition soon after anti-regime protests began in 2011, and it has remained a steady ally ever since.

But its influence became more explicit in 2016, when Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels launched a military operation against both Daesh and Kurdish fighters. Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs the local police forces.

But Turkish state institutions and private companies have also put down roots in this relatively stable pocket, becoming an integral part of everyday life.

Walls of the main hospital in Jarabulus are now adorned with portraits of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the town is lit by an electricity grid set up by Ankara. A similar deal is in its first stages in Azaz, Keno told AFP.

Turkish language courses

“A private Turkish company will implement an electricity project in Azaz, and Turkey is the guarantor,” he said, adding that Turkey has also helped the council pave roads, renovate mosques and repair classrooms. “They fixed up the schools, gave us desks, books, schoolbags, computers and printers,” he listed off.

As class started again this year, the council decided to introduce something new for the area’s estimated 18,000 students: Turkish courses.

“Since Turkey is this area’s state sponsor, of course learning the Turkish language guarantees a Syrian child’s future.”

Most of the signs around Azaz itself are already bilingual, and to phone each other and surf the web, residents have replaced their Syrian SIM cards with Turkish ones.

“The demand is remarkable,” said Ahmad Hadbeh, Turk Telekom’s 24-year-old representative in Syria.

The Turk Telekom store is set up in the centre of Azaz’s market, teeming with people shopping for sweets, rice, clothes and even cleaning supplies imported from Turkey.

Ahmad Yayla, assistant professor at DeSales University in the United States, said Turkey appears to be putting down roots for the long term.

“All those administrations in those cities are directed by Turkey. It’s a kind of mandate,” he said.

“The areas will not be part of Turkey officially, but Turkey will de facto keep ruling over those areas.”