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Syrian War Report – May 31, 2017: Tensions Grow As ISIS Collapses In Syria And Iraq

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The US-led coalition and US-backed forces are on full alert over the collapse of ISIS in the Syrian province of Aleppo and the success of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) against the terrorist group at the Iraqi border with Syria.

The Kurdish Security Police of the Asayish held a meeting on Monday in Qamishli city to discuss the formation of a defence system ‘to confront the Iranian project’ that is allegedly supported by by the Syrian government. In other words, the Asayish is concerned that a part of the Syrian-Iraqi border was liberated from ISIS by the PMU.

The Asayish is a 15,000-strong force controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). At the same time, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) that are the core of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are military wings of the PYD. Thus, the Asayish statement could be considered as an official position of the PYD and the SDF.

Furthermore, the Asayish was involved in heavy clashes against the National Defense Forces and the Syrian Army in the city of Hasakah in August 2016. The Asayish was supported by the YPG and the US-led coalition.

The US-backed force has also increased its activity on the southern bank of Euphrates capturing the villages al-Mushayrifah, Bir Akhu Hadlah, Bir al-David and Bir Hajj al-Mufazi near Tabqah as well as the Baath Dam and the villages of Hawra, al-Barouda and al-Matiyura south of it. According to some experts, the SDF is aiming to reach the Resafa Crossroads in order to cut off the Salamiyah-Raqqah highway that links up the SAA-held city of Salamiyah with Raqqah, and to expand its presence near the N4 Highway in order to prevent the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) Tiger Forces from reaching the province of Raqqah.

The SDF advance followed a collapse of the ISIS defenses in the countryside of Maskanah and a failure of US-backed militant groups to counter government forces in southeastern Syria along the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Thus, the US-led coalition may even decide to develop the SDF advance in the direction of Deir Ezzor in order to capture Deir Ezzor oil and gas fields on pretext of the battle against ISIS. However, this will be possible only if ISIS units deployed in Raqqah continue keep a defense attitude and avoid counter-attacking advancing SDF units.

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Free man

Someone is trying to create a conflict between the Syrian army and the SDF. I wonder who?

Joe Doe

The answer is very simple, the americans

Tom Tom

Not me, and I’m an American. CIA is doing it.

MeMadMax

Dude, are you serious? Once obama threw his weight behind the kurds, isis was sacrificed and the objective of clearing a pathway for the pipeline was handed over to the kurds… You can see them building the pathway right now from north to south along the syria/iraqi border. kurds in the north, “fsa” in the south.

Always take everything coming out of these factions with a grain of salt and ALWAYS relate it in some way to building that pipeline, which is the reason why this war started in the first place.

Mountains

The Kurds are securing Raqqah while the FSA are pushing for Deir Ezzor

dutchnational

Kurds and the remaining FSA groups have a very bad history. They will not cooperate if the SE FSA are islamists.

adam77

So if SAA would hurry up and drive East past Arak, they still have time to get to the border first just fighting ISIS, without bothering with FSA or SDF other than to race.

Concrete Mike

FSA is Much weaker than isis in the south, so when youre Trying to save on manpower, seems like à Good idea to me.

gfsdyughjgd .

Of course USA/Nato.

Free man

Not sure. There is a stream of negative information about everything that SDF does. It looks like a build up for war. We must examine who will benefit from a war between the Syrian army and the SDF. And it doesn’t look like the Americans or Nato, at least not now.

dutchnational

One can even see this on this site. A stream of vitriolic comments against SDF from Assadophiles, even calling for Turkey to attack the SDF, which is plain stupid because Assad cannot get rid of Turkey once they are in.SDF is Syria, wants to be Syrian and once the Ottomaniacs take a piece of land, they will give it back as quickly as Hatay.

Who gains? In my mind either Turkey and or or Iran.

Victoria "Fuck the EU" Nuland

Thanks to the terror sponsors of the White House the turks are ALREADY in Syria you mong. The “SDF” mercs don’t “want to be syrian”, they will to do whatever their puppeteers tell them to do.

Red Tick Alert

Comment deleted by myself.

Samuel Boas

Go troll somewhere else if you don’t like this page. You should be banned from coming here.

Mountains

why do you think the kurds are blocking raqqah? the answer is simple oil and gas cough cough omar oil field(The countries largest Oil field is up for graps)

Attrition47

The methodical operations of the Syrians against the US head-hopping, heart-eating rapers is making more sense now that the defeat of the not-respectable US head-chopping, heart-eating rapers shows that this process is only the beginning of the campaign to rid Syria of these American state bastards and their Euro-lickspittles.

Behold a Pale Horse

The Russians have spent a lot in Syria, I cant see them allowing the Kurds to take the oil.

Douglas Houck

There isn’t enough oil there to make it worth much. Syria’s oil production while never much (at peak ~1 mbd) has been in decline since the 90s. Not sure if SF is simply getting its readers cranked up a bit.

I agree, the Russians are in it for the long haul and SDF is not that much of a force with few heavy fighting weapons like tanks, etc. It still has a long ways to go.

dutchnational

As far as SDF heavy arms is concerned, you are completely correct. They are receiving heavier weapons now from the US, but still lack tanks (they have some 20 to 25, mostly adapted T55), Surface to air missiles, Manpads,

On the other hand, they are the only ones with a really unified command, disciplin and fighting spirit and morale and highly effective urban fighters, both offensive and defensive. They are also the ones that can field the largests numbers for offensive actions. The 30.000 fighters SDF is committing towards Raqqah cannot be equaled in offensive numbers by the SAA, nor by any militia.

The greatest strategic weakness for the SDF was up till recently, their lack of strategic depth. The offensives against Shahdaddi and Raqqah gave them the needed strategic depth and also a very defensable position in the Euphrates adn their control over the three dams and the bridges.

The present numbers of the SDF, coupled with the rapid expansion of their numbers will give them a powerfull position, the more so as they are only deployed in Northern and North Eastern Syria. I would not be surprised if the total armed forces of Northern Syria will be somewhere between 150k to max 200k end of 2017. (YPG incl YPJ some 100k, arab, syriac forces some 30 to 50k and HXP anywhere between 25 and 75k.

Thegr8rambino

“Strategic depth”?

Mikronos

The only thing wrong with them is that all their ‘real’ fighting ability is up north near the Turkish border. Down south they are going to have to rely on foreigners, probably US-funded mercs.

Tom Tom

Syria is 19th in the world in oil reserves, i.e. oil still in the ground.

Douglas Houck

Not sure which source you are looking at but EIA and BP list Syria’s (Syria+Lebanon+Israel+Jordan) total oil reserves at 2,500 MMbl which puts them tied with Uganda (just below the UK) at 31/32 place. 19th place is held by Mexico with 7,640 MMbl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves

Nobody is fighting this war over oil or natural gas, with or without pipelines (except maybe the Europeans).

Qatar as the world’s leading exporter of LNG already makes a lot of money selling natural gas to Europe. In 2009 Belgium, UK and Spain bought a third of Qatar’s annual LNG exports. Not sure if Qatar makes any more money selling the gas via a pipeline, but the Europeans would get to buy it at a much reduced rate. I’m also not sure if Qatar can undercut Russia on price of uncompressed natural gas.

Mikronos

Venezuela is number one? Iran is number three. Makes you wonder why the US is mucking about in Syria ….. saaaaay. They are mucking-about in Venezuela too and Iran is next on the ‘hit’ list.

Stephen

Fake news.

Media Kurdia Mesopotamia

but noone asking for this to russia.this is Kurdish land and its their Oil and gas which until now stolen by ohers and arabs,first time they can get for themself for all people in Rojava,all nation with them.

gfsdyughjgd .

The chaose o Ukraine,Lybia,Yemen,Iraq,Syria and Afghanistan is pre plan by USA and Nato countries are force in this shit by USA.

Lars

European NATO members UK, France and Germany have blood on there hands as well. Germany, the Vatican and the USA signed an agreement to destroy Yugoslavia in 1976. The attack on Libya was spearheaded by the UK, France and Italy. Always under false pretext, false flags with ample demonization of the leadership of the targeted country or its people. Always with internationalist support from the globalist umbrella organizations as well (UN, OEBS, EU).

adam77

It’s not a “pretext”! The primary goal of the SDF is to fight ISIS as is or should be the primary goal of every militia in Syria and Iraq until all ISIS territory has been taken. Thus taking oil fields near Dier ezzor in not a pretext but the primary and legitimate goal of whoever can do it first. I encourage SAA to take the oil fields first, even at the expense of other offensives. but if the SAA wants to fight over Al Tanf then SDF has every reason to take the Oil fields from ISIS and defend the abortion rights of the oil workers.

Samuel Boas

If you still don’t understand the real “pretext” then something is seriously wrong with you.

Concrete Mike

For the SAA and goverments forces focusing on Isis only is not viable when Al nusra is knocking on damascus and had half of aleppo.

Always push thé weakest link in first

adam77

I thought that at one time, but if it is important for SAA to link up with PMU on the border to trade supplies, then they need to fight ISIS. Nusra is not on the border. The weakest link on the border is ISIS.

Concrete Mike

When nusra is at your capital its à priority, cléaning out qaboun was critical, you cant downplay that

MN

ITS ABOUT OIL AND GAS PIPELINES

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world.php?yyyy=2016&mm=10&dd=21&nav_id=99470

Just read it…

Амьдрал Бол Кино

god bless bashar al assad.SAA saving their motherland.there is no democracy in the world.syrians just believe allah and save your country with together don’t fight each other.think about your future think about your life.if you lost country you will lost you

paolo duchateau

For my view and for the area of Deir Ezzor the key must come from the east with PMU. Aim of u-s is weakening Iran and Syria. Of course problems exist with Kurdish people but it’s a u-s srategy to create problems for mess.all sides. Don’t forget Syrian Kurds R not the same as Iraki Kurds, not same language, no PKK but “Big Israël”… Big mess. The peacemakers are the Russians for now and for many. Quite everybody hate u-s.

Stephen

Kurds are proxies of USA and Israel. What Turkey says is right. Therefore, to make Kurdistan, for this the Turkey recent army coup was organized by CIA America and Israel.

Kurds are fighting for occupation on Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran and therefore, they should have to forget their differences and to be united to remove this cancer from whole Middle East region.

United they can get strength to achieve their goals, but divided they will be failed.

Media Kurdia Mesopotamia

where do you live in Mars of so?you really think syria just arabs?you think Kurds coming from the sikes?syria is part of Kurdistan which was stolen and arabized.now time to save their own land take back.yes Kurds working with USA but not israel,many of you scared to much from israel here i see,i dont think israel is in this part but the Golan higlights.when CIA bringing erdogan to head of Turkey is good but when they take back not good?again one more timeKurds fighting for their Homeland Kurdistan which you know as made on paper turkey syriaa iraq..not occuping anywhere.once in a time soon you will see Kurds and arabs equal in the number of population with 40 percents in syria.

Stephen

Syria consists of 2% Kurds not 40% Kurds. There are some three or four Syrian towns in which Kurds population is 10%.

Media Kurdia Mesopotamia

you must live in dramworld still my friend.only in Dmascus is 1 million Kurd whic makes majosyty,and Alleppo as well,.you know if you dont have state then everyone talks on your name steal as much as they can.and because of preassure of racist and dictatoral regime like in syria turkey iraq iran of course many of them can not say even hey are Kurds but waiting for the time,and this is the Time,but don worry believe me Kurds best people in mid east tht you can trust n live inpeace together,only democrat nation,thats why even women are fighting against devil here.i wish quicest Peace in iddle east and the world,this blood is enough… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bc96ef4382b55b0f448e311e2f0e5d89e6f0da1b2db70fa35fcddf4aaa0230cc.jpg

Stephen

OK let’s suppose Syria Kurds are 40%, Suni 60% but where Shia + christian and Jew gone or

let’s say Kurdish are 40%, Sunni 30%, Shia 30% and we will ignore Christian and Jew that they are not exist in Syria, then in Syria the government should be of Kurdish.

Mikronos

The Kurds had few problems with Assad. He kept the Turks away from them. There is little love lost for America which only serves as a reminder that the Kurds are, essentially, on their own – unless there IS an ally willing to fly assistance into their landlocked ‘kettle’. America has ‘let the Kurds go’ a couple of times – and not in any Abe Lincoln sort of way.

Stephen

soon you will see Kurds and arabs equal in the number of population with 40 percents in syria but at the movement Kurds in Syria are 2% if I am not wrong.

PZIVJ

The number of Kurds in Syria may be 11% of the population. Both of you should do better research before posting BS.

Stephen

You are right but Kurds says that they are more and soon the number of Kurds and Arabs will become equal but how? I think they are doing force conversion of Arabs into Kurds by learning Kurds language compulsory in occupying land.

Bill Rood

The Kurds in Syria are mainly refugees from Turkey. Syria has always treated Kurds fairly, as they have all other ethnic and religious groups in Syria. Your BS now has me questioning the narrative about Sadam Hussein arabizing the Kurdish regions of Iraq, particularly Kirkuk, which has been multi-ethnic, certainly not predominantly Kurdish, for centuries. Nobody has a better claim to Kirkuk than ethnic Assyrians.

gustavo

SDF and Kurds (suported by USA) will do what USA will order, and nothing else. USA can use SDF and Kurds to attack Syria-Russia-hezbolah-Iran forces. So, the situation in the near future does not look fine for Syria any way. However, must of the result depends on Russia willing support to Syria.

cortisol

So. As I said before, this scenario is fluid depending on US alignment. Syria and Iraq can now make a deal with the devil (Erdogan) to squash and sandwich the new US puppet after current US takfiri terrorists have been expelled. I don’t see why any side would oppose it, in fact mainly benefits. All these nations face a similar threat of being carved up by USA.

John Mason

May as well get it over and done with, Syria, Russia should bomb the crap out of the SDF, Kurds and the US would be powerless because they are their in Syria illegally and if they try to stop Syria, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, PMU then destroy them also and their bases in Syria which violate Syrian sovereignty. About time that the US and coalition pay for their misdeeds.

Thegr8rambino

I really wish and hope for the SDF to just fuck off!!!

tigbear

SAA has the right to bomb Kurdish and Turkey has the right to bomb the Kurdish. SAA must do offensive on Kurdish areas. The USA has the SAA running around. They are using Kurds to create a front in the north and north-west. The USA is using the SDF to create another border at the Iraq-Syria border. ISIS is being used to create a front in some north-west regions, east regions and south east regions. ISIS has two functions:

1) Make the SAA scattered all over the place fighting several fronts at the same time 2) Be in places where the US wants the Kurdish to be. 3) Be in places where the US wants the SDF to be. 4) Be in places where the US wants the SAA to be. Eg. earlier they concentrated on western regions away from the Kurdish lands. While the SAA was liberating Damascus suburbs and Aleppo, the Kurds were strengthening their hold on the northern Kurdish regions.

The US can keep this up forever. The ISIS go back to their countries (including European bases like Germany, Sweden and England) for some R&R and then they are brought back into Syria with a fresh supply of arms and communications equipment. They receive instructions from the Israelis who communicate to them where to go within Syria, using the communications equipment which involves satellite phones. Al Baghdadi, the fake ISIS leader, actually an Israeli agent who speaks Arabic, sends out instructions and coordinates the operation. Of course he receives messages from Israel command. He may actually be working from Israel. (Occasionally, the media sends out report that he was captured in ——-, which later proves not to be true. This is done in order to keep up the pretense that a bona fide ISIS leadership exists. Dumb Islamists believe the whole charade and have no idea they are being used to bring the Muslim world down, including Sunni and Shiite states.)

The ISIS are thus moved around into places of strategic interest, keeping the SAA very busy, scattered in different places, and away from territories where the Kurds and SDF are making advances.

The USA hopes to capture large areas of Syria and fly the Kurdish flag or a separatist SDF flag. They want to carve up Syria and put as much of it under the control of their puppets.

So the US does not care about removing the ISIS. They say they are against ISIS but in reality they are not. The ISIS are useful tools and pawns in this game of chess.

Therefore, the EU countries are helping ISIS by giving them some place to return to. EU is in effect subsidizing Islamic State. Liberal immigration laws are necessary for this. Hence, you have these laws in place in most ZOG nations.

The US could get rid of ISIS in a week. But they won’t do that because they need ISIS. This is why ISIS personnel get treated in Israel. Israel passes on valuable arms and equipment. Mossad arranges things like drug shipments to ISIS forces from Europe. These stimulants keep ISIS militants fired up and crazy and aggressive.

Arab-speaking Israeli agents mix with ISIS. They give out instructions on the ground and hand over equipment and make the beheading videos, and perform the commando operations to kill key people in towns that they take over, and then they leave for a safe area, throwing away their disguise, leaving the Muslims to do the fighting. However, they keep in contact with them.

Because the funds keep going to ISIS from Israel and other helping nations, ISIS doesn’t have to worry about survival unlike a homegrown native guerrilla rebel force. The same with the Kurds and the SDF. However, their arming and funding are done more openly.

All of these groups have the same function – to destabilize Syria; however, ISIS is the illegitimate fighters, the Kurds and the SDF are the legitimate ones. They all work for the same side. They are all funded by the same people. The US will occasionally protect ISIS or hit them, depending on need. Same with Israel. The US will, however, keep protecting SDF and Kurds consistently. Israel will do the same.

Israel will make forays into Syria to make aerial strikes at Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.

Turkey should be given free rein as much as possible to attack Kurds and gain control of the northern areas as much as possible. SAA will be free to focus on other areas. They have been concentrating on the Iraq border passageway (Al Tanf area) and the Raqqa area where the Kurds are encroaching.

The Turks can send planes to give the SAA cover. Russians too. This will deter Americans from making aerial strikes on the SAA and its allies.

Unfortunately, the Syrian Government may not be able to avoid a clash with US forces. It can’t keep trying to avoid an encounter with it. I don’t know how the Syrians are going to avoid doing so if they are to regain back their country.

The Syrian Government should at least use S-300, 400 missiles against US aircraft that are threatening its forces. The Syrian Government cannot expect the Russians to get into an aerial combat with the US: this is like starting WWIII. And the US is not honoring the Astana agreement and flying its planes over the zones and shooting at SAA and allies and killing civilians too.

Syria has to more clearly define the red lines the US-Israel cannot cross. Now that Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Russia are helping it, it is time for the Syrians to end this conflict quickly and go all-out in wiping out subversive forces.

I suggest the SAA provide a skeleton unit to block the routes to the ISIS-held areas. Make it no-entry zones. This will prevent the Kurdish going to these areas.

The Kurdish should be contained in the northern area as much as possible. The Turks should be on the ground in the northern area which they hold temporarily.

While the Kurds and ISIS are contained, the SAA should then focus on the SDF and regain the areas held by them.

Once this is completed, the SAA must then work on ISIS held areas. Ports of entry for ISIS should be controlled. The Turks can take care of the Turkish-Syria border. In return for Turks helping Syrians, Syria should let the Turks use Syrian airspace and territory to fight the Turkish Kurds who are using Syria as a haven to launch attacks on the Turkish from.

Then when the Syrians have restored control of all areas and have established a presence in all cities, the Syrian Government must work with Russia and allies in the UN to assert its authority and have its sovereignty restored throughout all the provinces, using the fact that Assad’s government is the democratically elected one. The only thing that the US can use against Assad to argue that his government is illegitimate are the false flag chemical attacks and the prison crematoria atrocity claims.

The US will have to supply some sort of concrete proof. Russia and a group of nations that are impartial to the investigation can do their own investigation and submit their findings to the UN.

The Syrian Government must create a dossier of atrocities committed by the Kurds and SDF forces. They must show that the Kurds are not what they are shown to be in the media. They are a mixed group. Some of them are progressive liberals and some of them are Islamic extremists. Gathering eyewitness accounts and reports of atrocities committed will support this contention that these groups (SDF and Kurds) are not fit to govern any of the areas.

At the same time, the Syrians can show that while they did not perform apartheid against any of its people and even treated Palestinian refugees like its citizens, Israel has made Palestine into an apartheid nation. This will put the Israelis under focus and the US won’t be able to use the democracy argument against Syria if the Syrian Government does this.

Syria must not be afraid to engage the USA more in this conflict. Syria must be more aggressive as the US is gaining territory through its proxies.

And Syria should perhaps acquire some drones from Iran and use drones to fight SDF, Kurds and IDF.

Tom kauser

We can expect a similar tactic used in Afghanistan. Have your proxies move into a area to get ambushed and expect the marines to come and save the investments the American people have no idea they have been force to make!

More

There are no credible reports that IS / ISIS has collapsed in Syria or Iraq, they may have carried out a tactical withdrawal from Aleppo Province but they are still loose all around Northern Syria.

In Syria, there are many 100,000s’ plus IS terrorists located between Idlib through to the Iraq border and Mosul and south towards Deraa.

On a global scale with the blessing of the “Terror Axis” countries, US, UK, France, EU, NATO, Turkey, Saudi, Qatar, Arabs, etc who arm, train and finance terrorism there are MILLIONS of Islamic terrorists waiting to go to Syria.

Saudi Arabia alone has spent upwards of US$80 Billion funding mosques and schools around the world which are the breeding ground for the “Terrorist Conveyor Belt”, as one terrorist drops off “Martyrs” another two terrorists are ready to take his / her place.

Additionally, Saudi, Qatar and other countries have spent upwards of US$30 Billion in financing IS – Islamic State, the “Terrorist Conveyor Belt” in Syria.

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