Following the liberation of a number of sites along the Homs-Palmyra highway, the Syrian army is now in about 13km from the Palmyra triangle, an important ISIS-held logistical site near the western gates of Palmyra.
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Syrian Army’s Progress Towards Palmyra (Map Update)
I have no idea why pushing a bit east from salamiyah to clear abu hanayah and so and then south towards shaer / huwaysis / mahr / jazal to have another buffer zone there was never considered by the SAA HC. Maybe apart from manpower shortage, that is. Or maybe because the rastan / waer ”rebel” pocket will try take more of hama and homs. Also, south of palmyra and tiyas is important too. But most important is once they take palmyra, they take all the mountain chains to the north. If possible, mustadira and arak too.
If they leave the front so narrow again, this will keep happening. And it will only compound a possible manpower shortage, because more battles = more dead soldiers.
It’s Groundhog Day on the Homs-Palmyra Highway.
They also need to take full control of the Damascus-Palmyra highway if they’re serious about liberating Palmyra and actually holding onto it. Otherwise it’s like poking a puny finger at a crocodile’s jaw.
yeah it’s reallyyyyy narrow, that front, and the crocodile’s jaw analogy is perfect for it. Jesus, they can take palmyra back this time, no big deal. And then the tigers and desert hawks will go back to hama or aleppo or latakia …. and the front will be even narrower than before …. then what? Another ”surprise” offensive? Because no matter how much we here that ISIS is ‘crumbling’ in iraq and syria, they’re like fucking cockroaches in a sewer and they’re EVERYWHERE. It’s like they have more fighters now than they ever had. They’re under pressure everywhere, but no one gains ground fast with them. As much as I hate them, best guerilla islamist force ever.
I agree with you, it seems the oil fields are priority now, but the thing is, how can you hold that area if east of Salamiya isn’t cleared. I think they have found a way to work with the manpower shortage. When parts of Damascus was cleared, where did the solders go? Are they resting them for something huge? The SAA headquarters clearly see this, but the problem is huge because their supply lines are narrow, where did the ‘rebels’ that handed in their weapons go? They need to be proactive.
Can’t leave Palmrya undefended and can’t run away at the first sight of ISIS. Was really disappointed that Palmyra fell again, although I understand it wasn’t Russian troops on the front line, I thought the SAA has made a lot of progress in training and ability. The fall of Palmyra felt like a mini-mosul. I understand though that the Americans more or less gave the Jihadis an armed escort out of Mosul to Palmyra.