During the last two weeks, the situation in the northern part of the Syrian province of Latakia remained relatively calim. However, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and its allies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) carried out many raids against Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions in the area.
According to pro-SAA sources, the SAA and the National Defense Forces (NDF) ambushed a group of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters on April 1, killing many of them. The group was trying to sneak into SAA positions from the direction of Fulah, Shahrur and Shamas villages.
The SAA also downed two self-made armed drones that were trying to bomb SAA positions. Separately, the SAA destroyed a 130mm artillery around the village of Kabani.
On March 28, the First Coastal Division of the FSA, another US-backed ‘moderate opposition’ group, claimed that its fighters had downed a Russian Air Force jet with a 23mm gun. This statement was proven to be false.
On March 27, Ahrar al-Sham reported that the group had downed a helicopter in northern Latakia. A number of pro-government sources widely spreaded reports that it was a Russian military helicopter. However, the Russian Defense Ministry officially denied these fake news.
The First Coastal Division also targeted a gathering of Syrian soldiers with a Fagot missile on March 29. As a result, some Syian soldiers were injured and nobody was killed.
It’s expected that HTS and its moderate allies could heat up the situation in northern Latakia soon after their attack failed in Hama. However, this will be possible only if Turkey and its regional and global “friends” intensify military supplies to militant groups in western Syria.
The rebels will launch mass offensive only if Turkey decides to return to 2015 mentality which I dont believe they will . Why- rebels are weaker than 2015 . See their offensive – Damascus – failed in week,Hama failed in 10 days
how much longer u think until all these rebel areas around idlib, damascus hama are all secured?
I dont know . There is military centre where they coordinate . – Russia,Iran and SAA . Iran wanted SAA to go to break the siege of the Fua and the other village .But now the villages will be evacuated. Russian wants to go to Deir Ez Zor to break siege . Russia wants this because they fear that Saudis will go there through SDF territory creating Sunni state – partition . The Hama offensive could have changed the plans . I hope SAA goes to Ez Zor this year because if they dont ti could be too late . Idlib can wait because SAA will capture it anyway . I will give prediction – 2 years .
I concur. While it is very annoying to allow the Jihadis the safety of Idlib and other enclaves like East Ghouta, relieving Deir Ezzor and establishing a major Syrian government presence in East Syria is paramount
As a downside of this strategy we will see further headchopper offensives from Idlib and the other enclaves to stop this from happening.
wow yea i hope so too but thats a long time, i thought much sooner than that, maybe im just being overly optimistic
And about East Syria . The goal of USA and company wanted to have Salafist municipality (ISIS) which would have forced Assad to negotiate which it didnt happen because he called Putin for help . Now they want to replace with other thing .They want to use some Sunni Arab force to achieve it .
I agree with many of the things you write on these articles, but not this. I don’t think the current administration has any real issue with Assad staying in power as long as they can consolidate their geopolitical goal of aiding Kurdish independence. Things have changed, and while Trump isn’t some genius of war, the one thing he has done is to step aside and let the generals take back control of the battlefield. The U.S. sees immediate victory as 1) decimating ISIS territorially and 2) training, equipping and creating deeper diplomacy with the Kurds. Trump may very well agree with many of you in that at this point having Assad back in control might be the only thing that brings back security and safety to Syria.
Presidents don’t make decisions on things like this. U.S. President’s are MIC (military industrial complex) puppets.
are those the kurds?
Saddam’s Sunni Ba’athists run “ISIS.” Deal all along was to give them Raqqa (oil), eastern half of Syria and western half of Iraq.
Many Baathists where involved in the formation of ISUS years ago. But most of their leaders are dead and buried, along with their Daesh caliphate dream.
In the early period, the higher echelons were indeed Iraqi Ba’athists. But these men are now largely eliminated (if not all of them!) and the (foreign) jihadists have a long time ago taken control of ISIS.