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Russian Warplanes Pounding Turkish Proxies in Greater Idlib

December 26, 2020

RUSSIAN WARPLANES POUNDING TURKISH PROXIES IN GREATER IDLIB

On December 24 and 25, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes on positions of Turkish-backed militant groups in northern Lattakia.

A large part of the airstrikes targeted the outskirts of the town of Kabani. Photos shared by opposition activists show smoke rising from several hills in the town’s vicinity, where a complex network of tunnels, trenches and fortifications were built over the last two years. Kabani is a well-known stronghold of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups – Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Army and Ajnad al-Kavkaz.

The new wave of Russian airstrikes on Kabani coincided with intense shelling by the Syrian Army on the southern Idlib countryside. Syrian troops also targeted a vehicle of militants in western Idlib with an anti-tank guided missile.

This is not the first round of air and artillery strikes on positions of militants in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone. Last week, Syrian forces and Russian warplanes delivered over 100 strikes on different targets.

Pro-militant sources link these developments with the recent deployment of the Syrian Army reinforcements in the al-Ghab Plains claiming that this is a part of the preparations for an offensive operation there.

Meanwhile, reports appeared that following the successful cases in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey is considering to use its Syrian proxies in northern Iraq. Members of Turkish-backed militant groups proved themselves as useful cannon fodder taking the main casualties as Turkish special forces, artillery and air power deal with their opponents. This time, Turkish proxies will get a chance to sacrifice their lives in the battle against the PKK.

Tent Cities, Troop Surge & Tanks Pouring In: Reasons Why The ‘Final War’ For Idlib Has Begun

February 14, 2020

Tent Cities, Troop Surge & Tanks Pouring In: Reasons Why The ‘Final War’ For Idlib Has Begun

In the next weeks and months, Idlib is set to be front and center once again in world headlines. Not only have the Turkish and Syrian armies engaged in direct clashes since the weekend — with dozens of casualties on each side  —ready for what increasingly looks like the final showdown over Idlib, but superpowers Russia and the US have again lined up on either side. Here are some indicators that dramatic escalation is on the immediate horizon. 

An impressive, perhaps unprecedented build-up of seemingly endless columns of Turkish armored vehicles and tanks were seen amassing on the border this week:

1) Turkey announced Thursday more soldiers are being deployed to Idlib after already previously amassing troops at the border. 

According to Turkey’s Daily Sabah: 

The Turkish military has dispatched more soldiers and stationed multiple rocket launchers on the Syrian border as it continues to reinforce units and equipment at Turkey’s observation posts in northwestern Idlib province.

The rocket launchers were deployed in Hatay province, while commando squads headed to their units in armored vehicles.

2) Turkish tanks, armored columns, and elite commandos are pouring in as state powers are on a collision course:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put NATO’s second-largest army on a collision course with Russian-backed forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to try to prevent the fall of Idlib province, Syria’s last rebel stronghold.

The Turkish military ordered hundreds of tanks and armored cars dispatched to Idlib and struck about 170 targets in Syria in retaliation for attacks by Syrian forces that killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers in the northwestern province this month. Russia demanded a halt to attacks on Russian forces and their allies in the northwestern province, who’ve been conducting a months-long advance on the opposition bastion. — Bloomberg

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Turkey Deploys Hundreds Of Tanks, APCs And Commandos To Idlib; Attacks Syrian Army

February 10, 2020

Turkey Deploys Hundreds Of Tanks, APCs And Commandos To Idlib; Attacks Syrian Army

With the geopolitical situation now firmly on the backburner, we remind readers that the last time we checked into the flurry of recent events in Syria over the weekend, we found that the Syrian Army was making major gains inside Idlib in a military offensive condemned by Turkey and the United States, capturing the key town of Saraqib from al-Qaeda linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Amid the military advance, in the latest embarrassment to the US State Department, the Syrian and Russian governments said they’ve recovered proof of US support for the anti-Assad al-Qaeda insurgent terrorists, publishing photographs of crates of weapons and supplies to state-run SANA.

In any case, the growing feud between Russia and Turkey over control of Syria last remaining rebel holdout in Idlib province escalated overnight, and as Bloomberg reports, Turkey sent hundreds of tanks, armored personnel carriers and commandos to the Syrian province of Idlib as preparations continue for a likely attempt to break the siege of some of its outposts by Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

Turkish military convoy; photo: Reuters

The massive buildup over the weekend included the deployment of howitzers, multiple-rocket launchers, ambulances and trucks loaded with munitions, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.

Meanwhile, Turkey resumed talks with a Russian delegation in Ankara on Monday after failure to reach an agreement on Idlib on Saturday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin may meet if no deal can be reached

Turkey dramatically reinforced its forces across the border since Syrian troops killed five Turkish soldiers and a civilian in Idlib on Feb. 3 as they closed in on the country’s last major rebel holdout. 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Despite Trump Warning, Russia Resumes Major Airstrikes On Idlib

September 4, 2018

Despite Trump Warning, Russia Resumes Major Airstrikes On Idlib

lt doesn’t appear that Syrian and Russian forces are overly concerned with the Monday evening threats from both President Trump and Nikki Haley warning Assad and Russia against attacking Idlib Province, as Middle East sources now report that Russia has resumed an intense air campaign over Idlib for the first time in 22 days.

Beirut-based Al Masdar News reports, citing Syrian military sources, the Russian Air Force has begun its largest bombing campaign of the year in the Idlib Governorate.

Image via VOA News

Moments ago at least ten Russian Sukhoi jets launched dozens of airstrikes over the southern and western parts of the Idlib Governorate.

Al Masdar’s sources said the Russian Air Force specifically targeted the Jisr Al-Shughour District, including the towns of Al-Shughour, Mahambel, Basnqoul, Zayzooun, Ziyarah, Jadariyah, Kafrdeen, Al-Sahn, Saraseef, and dozen others. The source added that the Russian airstrikes numbered over 50 thus far.

With the large Russian bombardment, the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) long-awaited ground offensive is bound to start in the next few days.

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Meanwhile the Kremlin has responded to President Trump’s Monday evening tweet. According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Just to speak out with some warnings, without taking into account the very dangerous, negative potential for the whole situation in Syria, is probably not a full, comprehensive approach.”

The Kremlin added that the area was a “nest of terrorists” in what’s a clear dismissal of Trump’s warnings of “Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

US Strategy in Syria: ‘Create Quagmires Until We Get What We Want’

September 2, 2018

US Strategy in Syria: ‘Create Quagmires Until We Get What We Want’

In seeking to control post-war Syria, US determined to keep war going

In 2013, top Obama Administration officials described their policy in the Syrian War as one of keeping the war going. The administration wanted a big seat at the table for a political settlement, which officials clarified meant ensuring that the war kept going so that there was never a clear victor.

The Trump Administration seems to be slipping into that same destructive set of priorities in Syria. TheWashington Post this week quoted an unnamed Administration official as saying that “right now, our job is to help create quagmires [for Russia and the Syrian regime] until we get what we want.”

As ever, hat the US really wants is to have a dominant position in post-war negotiations, so they can dictate the form that post-war Syria takes. This means ensuring that the Syrian government doesn’t win the war outright.

That’s not as realistic as it once was, with the Assad government, backed by Russia, having retaken virtually all of the rebel-held territory except for a far north bastion in Idlib, dominated by al-Qaeda. This means the US now has to save al-Qaeda to keep the war going, which if we’re being honest has been a recurring undercurrent in US policy in Syria for years.

It is this desire that has the US repeatedly threatening Syria and warning them not to attack Idlib. It is this desire that is sparking almost daily US threats to intervene militarily if the Idlib offensive involves chemical weapons. Most importantly, it is this desire that has Russia very much believing media reports that the rebels could “stage” a fake chemical attack just to suck the US into the war, and be fairly confident it would work.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Endless enemies – how the US is supporting the Islamic State by fighting it

July 18, 2015

Endless enemies – how the US is supporting the Islamic State by fighting it

From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State to Assad, the US is fighting terrorists of its own creation by partnering with other terrorists of its own creation

Geopolitics is a murky game. Precisely how murky is reflected in the well-worn phrase, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

What happens, though, when you follow that ancient proverb with the faith of a religious believer?

Now that the war on the “Islamic State” (IS) is, ostensibly, in full-swing, the US is making “friends” out of enemies, old and new. Among our new friends is al-Qaeda.

Except they are supposedly not “our” friends, but friends of our allies.

Al-Qaeda, freedom fighters for Gulf monarchies

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are now working to support al-Qaeda’s official arm in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, to re-take Syrian territory from Bashir al-Assad. The strategy resulted in a coalition of rebel groups, led by the al-Qaeda faction, conquering Idlib in April.

The three regional powers claim they are hoping to compel al-Nusra to renounce its relationship to al-Qaeda – but the reality is they are funding the al-Qaeda affiliate without any meaningful guarantee of control.

“Nusra will stay with al-Qaeda unless the other rebel forces are able to unify into one force,” said one al-Nusra member. “[Al-Qaeda leader Ayman] al-Zawahiri says the unification of Muslims is more important than membership in any group.”

According to Rami Abdelrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, al-Nusra is “not so different from IS. They want to make an emirate but are looking for the right opportunity.”

Publicly, the official line is that the Saudi-Qatari-Turkish strategy is not directly funding al-Nusra, although the geopolitical coalition is aware that al-Nusra will benefit from the support to Islamist rebel groups.

– See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/endless-enemies-how-us-supporting-islamic-state-fighting-it-1621962798#sthash.A6sh8j6a.dpuf

 

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