On May 26, units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Tiger Forces and the National Defense Forces launched a surprise attack on the town of Kafr Nabudah in northwestern Hama, which had been recently captured by Hayat Tahir al-Sham (the former branch of al-Qaeda in Syria) and its Turkish-backed allies.
The attack began in the morning after a series of airstrikes by Syrian and Russian warplanes. By the evening, government troops had established full control of the town killing at least 5 militants.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-led forces seized Kafr Nabudah on May 22. Then, militants claimed that they had killed at least 50 pro-government fighters and captured several pieces of military equipment. Kafr Nabudah is the key strong point of militants in this area. The inability of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to keep it under its control create a threat to the western flank of militants deployed in Khan Shaykhun, Kafr Zita and nearby settlements.
SAA units seized seizing several weapons caches, including Grad rockets, tank rounds, artillery shells, mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and loads of ammunition of different calibers, in Kirkat. The SAA also discovered a underground tunnel leading to a fortified operations room in the town of Qalaat al-Madiq.
The SAA captured Kirkat and Qalaat al-Madiq earlier in May in the framework of its ongoing military operation in northern Hama.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, militant groups lost 350 fighters, five battle tanks, one infantry fighting vehicle, 27 pickup trucks, two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) and three rocket launches since the start of the ongoing round of hostilities in northwestern Hama.
Clashes in the area are expected to continue. The SAA’s 7th Division has recently sent reinforcements, including T-55 battle tanks, BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, Shilka anti-aircraft vehicles and 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, to the frontline. A source in the 7th Division told SouthFront that these reinforcements could participate in future military operations against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in the region. However, he declined to provide additional information.
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham repelled another SAA attack on their positions south of Kbani in northern Lattakia. Media close to the TIP claimed that several soldiers were killed. According to sources in the 4th Division, the SAA is seeing Kbani as a high priority target for offensive operations.
Turkey has resumed its weapon supplies to “mainstream Syrian rebels” to help them fend off the SAA advance in northern Hama, Reuters reported on May 25. According to the news agency, Turkey is supplied the militants with dozens of armored vehicles, Grad rocket launchers and anti-tank guided missiles, including US-made TOWs. Multiple Turkish-supplied armoured vehicles were also spotted on the frontline in northwestern Hama.
The de-escalation efforts in the so-called Idlib zone seem to be on the brink of full collapse.
Hey Turkey, when you little terrorist roaches are burnt, shot of bombed to death; OUR HEROES ARE COMING AFTER YOU.
Hi ! I have no idea why Turkey supported these mercenaries (or turned a blind eye to their traffic). I think that Turkey has made things much more complicated (when they intervene in Suria) than it has solved problems. What if not to support their backed forces, things they denied in early days… And then, Turkey proved they was unable to bring the radicals to their senses. Because of Muslim Brotherhood? What you think?
Cheers.
In Syria, Turkey allegedly entered to rid the border area of the Kurds; but I think with some big hints by the likes of the US and some middle Eastern Countries, he got greedy and wanted Syrian land as well.
His troops are not up to much, as he has imprisoned the battle hardened cream of the crop, so like the US, he used Turkish backed militias….
They will get their comeuppance.
Turkey have a big problem with his own debt (what decreased a little bit in 2018) They bring milicia to Syria but was economically punished, right? Now Erdogan is politically weakened, he would like S-400 from Russia, But I’m not sure he had the necessary means to carry out its policies.
Dear Russia, I know that you can see very well these comboys, will you please just bomb them and get rid of them ? You know very well that these weapons are to defend terrorists. Just stop pleasing Erdogan.
I believe for all intents and purposes the de-escalation agreement for the Idlib zone was dead on arrival. Most SF readers Understood it was just a matter of time for things to get hot. Assad, Erdogan and Putin certainly knew as well, giving lip service to some fantasy arrangement they knew had no basis in reality.
All they knew that was just a pause, and more, Syrians and Russians always said it was just temporary.
Assad was clear all Syrian territory to be liberated. Russian statements were less clear such as announcing military operations in Syria largely over shortly after the Idlib agreement which raised a few eyebrows.
Lavrov also said the same about the demilitarized zone of 15/20 km: a temporary agreement, as the Idlib’s de-escalation zone.
Remember how Russia became involved in Syria? The Iranians approached Russia and pitched a deal that Russia accepted. I think that deal was, if Russia supplied air support, Iran would give Russia a slice of the Iranian pipeline, and it would stop the American pipeline from Qatar. Stopping the American pipeline was paramount, because if it had been built the US would have been able to get the EU to dump Russian gas.
So Russia has probably fulfilled its side of the bargain, Syria needs to defend itself, not rely on others.
I like your thinking and importantly, it explains well the history – better than even Russia trying to pull Turkey out of the US orbit – although there is some of that for sure. If Iran’s conditions for alliance with Russia are narrowly defined as you suggest, it would explain the deconfliction arrangement with Israel. Russia would stipulate as long as Bibi’s bombs did not materially change facts on the ground – and it didn’t, Russia was complying with the arrangement with Iran. Although technically in compliance, Iran I am sure was none to pleased.
That’s another piece of the puzzle I did not know.
We keep mixing up 2 seprate things: The de-escalation agreement for the Idlib zone [which to me made no sense], and the cease-fire when the SAA started to have some success [which made even less sense].
Yes, but it was clever to propose this deal imho, because Russians wanted to proves “who’s who” and to test if it was impossible to bring these so called “moderates” on negociation table (or not). And it was not, simply because they were not “moderates” at all, but radicals, and DMZ deal got proved that! Genius isn’t it?. it was a great idea, wasn’t it?
Turkey is isolating it self from Russia and USA.
Erdogan is isolating himself from everyone but his fanatical followers, when his approval rating at home slips below 50%, there will be a lot of Turks who’ll try to jail him or worse. He’s not a safe political bet for anyone, he’s actually toxic. In any long term political venture a partnership with Erdogan would be destined for a very short lifespan I think.
Thanks for good observation and infor.
You’re welcome, and I’d like to thank you for being both honest and brave with your posts, it takes a brave man to tell the truth on these forums, but as you know we need more truth on these forums, not the idiotic propaganda that some of the one eyed commentators try to preach to us, so keep it up. Cheers.
Yeah. And I believe his approval rating is in fact slipping rather. All his belligerence and pointing out enemies can only distract for so long from how things are actually going in the country–and that’s rather bad. Turns out his economic strategy was hollow–gave some short term results but more recently the bottom has fallen out rather.
Two years ago Turkey was close to running financial deficits but not anymore, and Putin’s the one to thank for Turkey’s recent economic recovery, no one else. Have a look and see for yourself how Putin’s helped shape Turkey’s economy for the last 2 years, he’s made Turkey economically very dependent on Russia over that time period, and a lot wealthier. Even if Erdogan was unhappy with Putin he couldn’t do anything about it now, his economy would practically collapse of Putin were to stop assisting him. I hear a lot of people say Putin’s become totally dependent on Erdogan due to geopolitical concerns, but the truth is much closer to this, Erdogan can’t survive politically or economically without Putin now. You obviously haven’t forgotten Erdogan locked up 10,000 Turks after the coup, but a lot of other people have, when they see Erdogan hanging from a tree in the middle of a public square somewhere in Turkey, they might remember just how hated Erdogan is by nearly half his own people. And morons keep trying to tell us Putin needs Erdogan, what a joke, most of the world must be totally insane with only a few of us left with the ability to reason. Cheers.
Interesting. Mind you, Putin can help but in my opinion, in the end if the economic strategy sucks outside help can only go so far. I think Erdogan’s ideas about how to run an economy are too elite-oriented and too willing to ride paper booms (eg property bubbles) to deliver broad based prosperity in the medium term.
I agree, outside influence can only go so far, true long term prosperity is achieved through trade and good relations with neighbours, things Erdogan isn’t managing too well. But in saying that the situation would be very different if the US removed all it’s economic sanctions against Turkey, that’s outside influence that’s actually harming the Turkish economy, I’m pretty sure without the sanctions imposed the Turkish economy would actually be going gangbusters now, but I don’t think the US will remove those sanctions until Erdogan is removed from power so perhaps I shouldn’t even mention it.
Russia has a lot more real interests in Turkey than Syria, so it is hesitant to take things too far… especially since Erdogan is back and forth playing one superpower against the other, not to mention that he simply can’t be trusted. So it is the long haul for Russia to pull Turkey out of the US-nato orbit…
and at the same time see that Russia’s self interests in Syria are also being fulfilled.. there are a lot of jihadists in Idlib and that area and I believe it will take at least a year or more to get rid of most of them
russia in syria was ina very bad neigborhood israel to the south jordan to the west u.s. bases in iraq syria and saudi arabia and turkey so yes making frineds with turkey is a smart move.
Russian Special Forces Deployed To The Front-Lines In Northern Syria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpSel7DLkfQ
Only killed 5 militants taking back the town, does that mean the rebels mostly just ran away, or does it mean they didn’t have many rebels here guarding it which seems very unlikely, I wonder what the case was. So the vehicles and weapons Russia sells to Turkey, are given by Turkey to the rebels, who then use them to attack Russians and Syrians, I wonder if Erdogan will ever use those S-400’s he’s buying to shoot down Russian jets if ever they have a falling out.
S-400 would have Identify Friend or Foe built in. Turkey knows that Russia is not going to attack them. They are buying S-400 to make sure that NATO does not get the chance. (Patriots also have IFF built in.)
Reverse engineering might make those S-400 do things they were never designed to do, I’m sure both Israel and the US have already offered to help unlock their secrets. Isn’t it lucky the S-400’s have now been made obsolete by the newer S-500’s, the US Turkey and Israel would still have the inferior systems even if they do successfully reverse engineer them when they get the opportunity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4E0z_ZiU7k
South-front made it to RT as a source. Cool.
World Eye, what’s the base for your affirmation: “South-front made it to RT as a source”?
In the video @ 03:01 you can see RT co-responded quoting SouthFront’s Intel, on that I was referring.
Ok, cool.