On December 30, clashes continued between Kurdish YPG forces, backed up by the US-led coalition’s airpower, and ISIS terrorists in the area northwest of the ISIS self-proclaimed capital in Syria, Raqqash.
YPG forces advanced on the ISIS-held village of Mahmudli, engaging ISIS units in its outskirts, but failed to seize it from terrorists.
In turn, ISIS forces have been developing a counter-attack in the area of Jabar. An intense fighting is ongoing there.
Click to see the full-size map
YPG are Syrian civilian Kurdish their belong to Syria and should stay in Syria.Erdogan canot decide for Syria and Iraq what to do with their civilians.Turkey Erdogan Nato must leave Syrian domestic affair and concentrate on his fake coup to please Putin.
Erdogan is busy with civilian elimination in Syria AND Iraq.Erdogan knows that Russia will buy face with him for knowing that Nato will come to his rescue even if he kills a Ambasador or shooting Russian jet.After five years of Syrian government suffering Russia wants to make Turkey look as it has bring peace to Syria for oil pipline deal through Syria.
Raqqa city has good natural defenses (terrain, water barriers all round). Dai ‘sh forces well armed, including heavy weapons, well equipped and very well prepared and organized, can be expected to fight to the end. So far YPG/SDF have advanced with US/FR air support and logistics back-up mainly thru lightly defended open countryside. Further advance stalled at Tal as-Saman, Ayn Issa still vulnerable, YPG yet to seize road junction at Uidian/Widyan. Dai ‘sh freely re-deploy up/down both sides of Euphrates so far until N4 is cut. BTW the Tabqa Dam, road/rail crossing, Ba’ath Dam and main road bridge from Raqqa city to right bank are so far intact for eventual liberating forces, no sense in destroying Syrian vital transport infrastructure.
The Kurds are still being used as cannon fodder by the West, and now Putin is allowing Erdogan to attack them without restraint, in Turkey, in Iraq & in Syria where their brave and forward-thinking Constitution challenges Erdogan’s sultanate. May the New Year bring them better fortune.
It is important to compare operation Euphrates Shield by turkey with operation Euphrates wrath by the kurds. They are not just happening in parallel along the Euphrates at the same time, but they have the same destination , raqqa.
The turks suffered setbacks from unexpectedly fierce resistance, resistance that has been very well armed, and unexpected mutinies from allied forces, and the complete refusal from fellow NATO countries to provide coaltion air support. The turks are still at Bab, while the kurds boasted they grabbed over 60 villages without a fight. They reported isis retreating without a fight. It wasn’t until Dec 27th , so they approached tabqa and its hydroelectric Dam when isis finally made their counterattack.
Apparently, the kurds have found the limits of what isis was willing to concede. The idea that isis will surrender Lake Assad’s dam without a fight proved unrealistic. The Dam, and is hydroelectric power are valuable assets and isis has a history of destroying assets to prevent theme from falling into enemy hands. In 2016, when they were about to lose the shaer gasfield, they blew up the pumping station resulting in an explosion that measured 4.4 on the richter scale.
Raqqa is in no danger of a dam break. The city lost half its prewar population, so floodplain homes will be relocated to unused shelters to the north. The water will pass in a few days, and then the homes will be reoccupied. It is cities downstream that have no nearby homes to relocate to that will suffer the most. Such as besieged deir Ezzor.