Turkey has always had an interest in the area and has widely regarded that the SDF units have ties to the terrorist organization of the PKK. After the 2019 Turkish Offensive into north eastern Syria, the Turkish offensive ended short of the M4 highway that spans through most of Syria. Cutting the highway would be a major blow to the SDF.[10] In early October of 2020 Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan began threatening to launch another offensive into the area calling it a "terrorist zone."[11]