The new ceasefire agreement designed to cease hostilities in northwestern Hama and southern Idlib has just collapsed.
On August 3, the leader of Hay’at Tahir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), Abu Mohammad al-Julani, announced that his group would not withdraw “a single fighter or a weapon” from the demilitarized zone and vowed to recapture the areas, which had been liberated by the Syrian Army. The withdrawal of radicals from this demilitarized zone had been the key demand behind the establishment of the ceasefire.
On the same day, Abu al-Walid al-Tunisi, a senior commander of al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din, was killed in an improvised-explosive device (IED) explosion in Taftanaz in eastern Idlib. Some pro-militant sources immediately blamed Damascus.
On August 4, the al-Qaeda-linked coalition of militant groups, “Wa Harid al-Muminin”, shelled the town of Slanfah in northern Lattakia with rockets inflicting civilian casualties. The terrorists also claimed that they had foiled a Russian special operation near Khirbat al-Naqus in northwestern Hama. The coalition said that 2 of its fighters were killed in the clashes.
On August 5, Syria’s General Command of the Army and Armed Forces announced that militant groups in the Idlib de-escalation zone refused to abide by the ceasefire and continued attacking civilians in nearby areas. In the released statement, the General Command said that Syrian forces will resume combat operations against militants regardless of the names that they are using and described the Turkish presence in the country as a destabilizing one. Syrian air and artillery strikes were reported in northwestern Hama and southern Idlib.
Earlier reports appeared that the Syrian Army may resume full-scale ground operations against militants after the end of Eid al-Adha on August 15 if they continue to violate the ceasefire.
According to the Damascus government, since the start of intervention in Syria, Turkey has deployed inside the country 10,655 military personnel, 166 battle tanks, 278 armored vehicles, 18 rocket launchers, 173 mortars, 73 vehicles armed with heavy machine guns, 41 anti-tank missile launchers, and around 280 policemen.
On August 4, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey is planning to enter northeastern Syria, currently controlled by US-backed Kurdish armed groups, and has already shared these plans with the US and Russia. On August 5, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army shelled positions of Kurdish groups east of the towns of Marea and Herbel.
Meanwhile, the Afrin Liberation Forces, a Kurdish insurgency organization created to carry out attacks on Turkish targets in the area of Afrin announced that the recent AFL operations resulted in the killing of 19 members of Turkish-backed factions. Tensions in the area are growing.
“…On August 4, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey is planning to enter northeastern Syria, currently controlled by US-backed Kurdish armed groups, and has already shared these plans with the US and Russia…”
Smeagol says this every other week. All the Turkish Kurds are certainly not PKK, but there’s 14 million Kurds in Turkey and maybe one or two million in Syria. Sorry, but the 10,000 Turkish troops and tracked ATGM targets, aka ‘tanks’, in Syria are not going to do it. Turkey has been ruined economically – the country will collapse before the big invasion of Syria ever happens. Someone please Snapchat Smeagol and give him the bad news.
Lol ??
Who or what is “Smeagol”? If Turkey is broke, how are they going to pay Russia for the S-400 system that has been delivered?
Smeagol is an ugly creature from some myths. They’ll pay Russians, but nevertheless Turkey economy is on front of collapse, because tax payers will pay for super expensive weapons.
A nickname for Erdogan from lord of the rings. I don’t get it either though.
Turkey’s economy was heading towards collapse you mean but not anymore it isn’t, now it’s just barely managing to tread water again. Putin’s helped Erdogan pull his economy back from the brinc, a billion worth of trade now between Turkey and Russia including exclusive trade deals, industrial cooperation, technology transfers, it’s not as bad as it once was and getting better. But I always wonder what would happen if the US suddenly ended all economic and industrial sanctions against Turkey, that would certainly change things dramatically, inflation would no longer be a problem for the Turkish economy and it would take off like a racehorse out of the starting gates, I think the real question is this, which will ultimately prevail, US sanctions or Erdogan’s Geopolitical ambitions.
Turkey is hamstrung by lack of oil. It needs to secure oil. Nuclear reactors don’t quite liquid fuel needs
Turkey’s buying heaps of cheap oil and gas from Iraq Kazakhstan and Russia and heaps of cheap crude oil from Iran, and they can buy as much as they want and very cheaply too, and in fact because of its geo location, Turkey is eventually going to be swimming in the stuff. Turkey is set to become one of the largest oil and gas delivery hubs in the world, it will resell oil and gas from the Middle East and Caucasus, directly to markets in the EU, Turkey will have enough oil and gas for their own needs, and also make a heap of cash reselling the stuff to the EU. When all the transit pipelines are built Turkey will prosper like never before, and also have a hold over the EU like never before. Hopefully the war in Syria is long over when Turkey eventually gets it’s windfall, if it isn’t Erdogan will have heaps of cash to splash on his rebels in Syria.
The war wont stay in Syria now. Pax Americana is ending markets and supply lines will erode and become broken.
Unless a local hegemony can force some stability. Which is where Turkey will try to step in.
Back in June last year both the US and the Israelis agreed that Assad could remain in power, they also didn’t hinder the SAA during the Daraa campaign, and Trump even stopped supporting the FSA rebels and kicked them out of Al Tanf, that’s when the war was really over, the only person still trying to remove Assad from power now is Erdogan, he’s the only reason there’s still fighting going in Syria, and the only reason the US couldn’t withdraw their troops as Trump wanted to. The Arab League have been the most vocal complaining about the lack of trade and security problems in the region, and they squarely point the finger at Erdogan blaming him for the whole mess.
Sounds about right. Turkey is the problem because it has to be with or without Erdogan. I was being sarcastic about it bringing stability.
Sometime soon America will start leaving. Either thru trumps prescience about America first or a war will force them to do so.
Their goal must be the Arabian oil fields. I think the military alliance with Qatar is the tell.
Turkeys is poised to rescue its economy through looting its neighbours in conquest a la hitler and napoleon’s campaigns.
Everyone around them needs to guard themselves. Turkey will run amok before it collapses. They have more than enough to overrun syria in the upcoming total war scenario. I assume Assad had russian exile plans setup.
Don’t vow, just DO IT!
They’re already doing it…
US first hired proxies in Syria and then they intruded themselves. US everywhere uses proxies in the world.
The US is a Zionist proxy.
After stupids ceasefires….vows to resume…..and another ceasefire, and anothe vows to resume…..and another ceasefire, and another vows to resume…..and so on. Why ? because Russia do not want to upset Turkey at Idlib zone neither its terrorists.
This is ridiculous. i am already sick of reading about it.