Russian-Turkish Partnership in the Area of Another Turkish-Syrian Crisis

JANUARY 6, 2023

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° 

Alexandr Svaranc
In today’s geopolitical dynamics, Russia and Turkey maintain a relevant regional presence in strategically important regions of the Near and Middle East, where the interests of the two powers can combine and diverge. However, the ruling elites have a high sense of maintaining a balance of power, respecting national interests, avoiding the prospect of radicalization of conflict situations and seeking decoupling to strengthen regional peace and mutually beneficial cooperation.

It should be recognized that the administrations of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have so far succeeded in finding relatively acceptable solutions to crisis situations through constructive dialogue, guiding the diplomacy of the two countries towards finding joint solutions on the same issue of Syria, overcoming the burden of historical stereotypes and building a new example of a worthy partnership.

In this context, Russia and Turkey have established a number of effective negotiating platforms (in particular the Astana, Sochi and Geneva summits in multilateral and bilateral formats). Russia understands the concerns of Turkish partners on key issues of Turkey’s national security (including ethnic separatism, external threats to territorial integrity and international terrorism). Russia, given its economic, resource, technological, intellectual and military-industrial strength, does not set out to suppress its important geographical neighbor. On the contrary, Moscow is developing a high level of strategic partnership in all the aforementioned areas, making a significant contribution to stabilizing Turkey’s financial and economic situation and strengthening its defense potential, and expects to expand trade with the ambitious goal of reaching USD 100 billion.

The stability and progress of each country depends not least on border security and the normalization of relations with its immediate neighbors. The political course of Turkey’s ruling Justice Party, led by its charismatic leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, proclaimed the “Zero Problems with the Neighbors” strategy in the early 2000s. For the Republic of Turkey, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023, the tradition of a post-imperial state remains high, where the complex history of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I was partly transformed into a painful relationship with many of its neighbors, who regained or lost their independence on the wreckage of the collapsed state.

Of course, the declaration of the said strategy without taking into account current realities cannot simultaneously succeed on all directions of Turkey’s borders and requires time and painstaking diplomatic work on bilateral and multilateral levels. At the same time, Turkey has had a number of positive achievements in shaping better relations with Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria and African countries. There is every reason to believe that Ankara is also interested in restoring full-fledged friendly relations with such a key country in the Arab East as Syria.

The peculiarities of the US regional policy in the Middle East have led to widespread destabilization in a number of Arab countries, to the negative phenomenon of the growth of radical Islamic movements with their institutionalization as Al Qaeda and ISIS (both terrorist groups banned in Russia), which eventually led to the chaos in a large part of the Levant. Accordingly, the destabilization of the political situation in the same Syria has provoked ethnic and religious strife, triggered a wave-like flow of a large army of refugees mainly to neighboring Turkey, and caused a significant social and economic crisis which took a heavy toll on the Turkish economy.

For Turkey, the politicization of the Kurdish issue within and near its national borders is an objective concern, forcing the authorities to pursue a tough course to prevent another territorial redistribution and, as a consequence, new social cataclysms in the Near and Middle East. Both Turkey and its reliable partners have to contend with these challenges.

The Russian peacekeeping operation in Syria since fall 2015 has set a new precedent for eliminating the US foreign monopoly in this region. With the arrival of the Russian Air Force, conditions have developed on Syrian territory for more effective interaction with key states in the Near and Middle East (in particular Turkey and Iran) to curb the threat of international terrorism emanating from ISIS (terrorist group banned in Russia) and to find political ways to resolve the accumulated differences in the Syrian-Turkish agenda, combining them with effective peacekeeping operations.

Turkey, which has problems with Kurdish separatism, is very sensitive to attempts to activate the Kurdish militant movement in Syria. This is why, after the Syrian Kurds declared political autonomy in 2014, Ankara recognized the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as a terrorist organization and ally of the PKK, which is banned in Turkey, and the fighting wing of the PYD, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as a military opponent. Partly due to the Russian presence in Syria, a number of Turkey’s limited military operations in the north have become a reality in order to avoid the creation of quasi Kurdish independent territorial entities capable of intensifying terrorist and separatist threats to Ankara. In particular:

– Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016-2017 (as a result, the cities of Jarablus and al-Bab were subjected to military mop-ups, 2,000 square kilometers of Syrian territory came under Turkish control with the formation of a security buffer zone there);

– Operation Olive Branch in 2018 to prevent the Kurdish-populated cantons of Jazira, Kobani and Afrin from uniting and the Kurds from reaching the Mediterranean Sea (Afrin ended up under full control of Turkish forces);

– Operation Peace Spring in October 2019, with Turkish military and pro-Turkish Free Syrian Army (FSA) units advancing deep into northern Syria, taking control of new population centers – Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad, cutting the strategic M-4 highway. Thanks to effective negotiations between the Russian and Turkish leaders in Sochi on October 22, 2019, new zones of influence in north-eastern Syria were secured, with the status quo maintained in Turkish-occupied areas and the withdrawal of all Kurdish groups from the entire border with Turkey 30km inland, as well as the establishment of Russian-Turkish patrols in the area.

It should be noted that from operation to operation, Turkey has built up its military forces from special forces units to the use of armored vehicles, artillery and air force with a combination of infantry from the same FSA units, gaining new experience in combat operations in this theater.

In November 2022, with air strikes against Kurdish military bases (in Kobani, Aleppo, Raqqa, al-Hasakah), Turkey announced a new “Operation Claw-Sword” in northern Syria. The formal occasion was the terrorist act of November 13, 2022 in Istanbul’s Istiklal Square, which the Turkish intelligence services recognized to be organized by Kurdish insurgents (in particular the PKK and a Kurdish fighter executor from Syria). Ankara aims to implement a declared plan to establish a 30-kilometer security zone along the entire border with Syria.

Erdoğan has announced his intention to conduct a ground operation involving regular army forces alongside the air operation. He also criticized Russia to a certain extent. Turkey’s leader believes that Moscow has not fully met its obligations under the 2019 Sochi agreements to withdraw Kurds from the 30-kilometer zone. However, the creation of the same “Idlib Security Zone” with Russian participation was, infamously, prevented by the fact that the US refused to withdraw its forces from the zone with the support of local Kurdish forces.

Russia and Turkey have gone a long way towards an effective partnership in the Syrian crisis. Of course, every time Moscow and Ankara make progress in finding new solutions to stabilize the situation in northern Syria, the US, aware of the loss of its own hegemony in the region, finds another form of torpedoing the Russian-Turkish agreements. Accordingly, the Russian-Turkish effective partnership is perceived in Washington as a kind of attack on America’s monopoly and a breakdown of NATO unity, plagued by equally obvious internal contradictions.

Meanwhile, Russia-Turkey relations are progressing with strong results to show for it. Thus, according to Mehmet Samsar, Turkish Ambassador to Russia, the trade turnover between Russia and Turkey by the end of 2022 could be close to USD 50 billion, an increase of USD 15 billion over 2021. The scope of this partnership is expanding: from a gas pipeline to a nuclear power plant, from military and technical cooperation to joint actions for regional peace, from a grain deal to a gas hub. Turkey remains one of the few NATO countries that has not supported total sanctions against Russia in the context of the special military operation in Ukraine, pursues a traditionally pragmatic policy and maintains its role as a reliable partner and effective mediator in relations with its northern neighbor.

The author believes that, in the new year too, the Russian-Turkish situational alliance that has developed in recent years will maintain its momentum of growth, trust and optimization of new opportunities. The coming year 2023 will prove to be a time of intense and important political, economic, military and cultural events in the lives of the two countries. In particular, the next presidential election in Turkey, the launch of ambitious new economic projects (the gas hub, the unblocking of important regional communications, the prospect of a second nuclear power plant near Sinop on the Turkish Black Sea Coast), the establishment of stability in the safe corridor on the Turkish-Syrian border, the approach of peace in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, etc. All this points to a broader agenda of Russia-Turkey relations, where the parties can complement each other and interact effectively.

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Supporters of armed groups attack Turkish checkpoints in Idlib, Aleppo

12 Aug, 2021

Source: Agencies

By Al Mayadeen English 

Following Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s proposal to reconcile between the Syrian government and the opposition factions, supporters of armed groups staged massive protests in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo.

Thousands of supporters of armed groups took to the streets on Friday to protest against Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for proposing reconciliation between the Syrian government and the opposition factions.

Turkey’s top diplomat revealed on Thursday that he had a brief meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in October in Belgrade and that communication between the two countries intelligence agencies had resumed.

Cavusoglu added, “We have to somehow get the opposition and the regime to reconcile in Syria. Otherwise, there will be no lasting peace, we always say this.”

Cavusoglu also stated that there must be strong administration in Syria to prevent any division of the country, adding that “the will that can dominate every corner of its lands can only be achieved through unity and solidarity.”

https://twitter.com/talb_alrajhy/status/1557998126492950528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1557998126492950528%7Ctwgr%5E15c1652d80b15305af941e96c56a49f76742be28%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.almayadeen.net%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fsupporters-of-armed-groups-attack-turkish-checkpoints-in-idl

Supporters of the so-called Turkish-backed National Army took to the streets in major northern cities including Azaz, Al-Bab and Afrin to protest Cavusoglu’s comments.

Some protesters burned a Turkish flag, while others removed Turkish flags displayed throughout major northern cities.

Meanwhile, armed groups summoned supporters to protest in major northern cities, which are under the control of Turkish forces, under the slogan: “No reconciliation”.

Activists confirmed that dozens of demonstrations took place in several areas of Idlib and Aleppo’s countryside, emphasizing their rejection of Cavusoglu’s proposal, which contradicts the Tukey’s claims that the Syrian state is obstructing the country’s political process. 

These protests demonstrate that armed groups are the impediment to any political process that leads to stability in the country and a resolution to the 11-year-long crisis.

كرد سوريا.. في خدمة من؟

الأربعاء 15 حزيران 2022

حسني محلي

السؤال الأهم هو: لماذا تتخذ القيادات الكردية هذه المواقف المتناقضة؟ ولماذا لا تستخلص الدروس من كل أخطائها؟

بعد التهديدات التركية بالتوغل في الأراضي السورية شرق الفرات وغربه، بذريعة طرد مسلحي وحدات حماية الشعب الكردية من الشريط الحدودي مع تركيا، عاد الحديث من جديد عن حوارات كردية مع دمشق بهدف التصدي للجيش التركي في هجومه المحتمل.

قرار وحدات حماية الشعب الكردية لا يتخذ في القامشلي بل في جبال قنديل.

 ومع أن المعلومات ما زالت ضئيلة لجهة نتائج هذه الحوارات، إلا أن الجميع يعرف أن قرار هذه الوحدات لا يتخذ في القامشلي، بل في جبال قنديل، حيث قيادات حزب العمال الكردستاني التركي، الذي بات يسيطر على الحركة الكردية السورية بعد إقصائه الأحزاب والمنظمات والمجموعات الكردية الوطنية وغير الوطنية، بما فيها تلك الموالية لمسعود البرزاني؛ حليف الرئيس التركي رجب طيب إردوغان. 

ومع المعلومات التي تتحدّث عن تأجيل العمل العسكري التركي بعد زيارة وزير الخارجية الروسي سيرغي لافروف لأنقرة واعتراضه عليها، تراجعت في الوقت نفسه حدة التصريحات الكردية التي كانت تتحدّث عن ضرورة العمل العسكري المشترك مع الجيش السوري، وهو ما يعكس تناقضات القيادات الكردية بشقّيها: السوري أولاً، والتركي ثانياً. والشق الثاني هو الأهم بغياب إرادة الطرف الأول في اتخاذ القرارات التي تخدم الشارع الكردي السوري أولاً، والدولة السورية تالياً بتوجهاتها الجديدة إلى الحل الشامل لما يسمى القضية الكردية، فقيادات قنديل التي غادرتها بسبب القصف التركي المتوالي ترى في مسلحي وحدات حماية الشعب الكردية، وأغلبيتهم الساحقة من السوريين، ورقة مهمة تساوم بها كل الأطراف الإقليمية والدولية بعد انتكاسات الحزب المسلحة في تركيا.

وقد نجح الجيش وقوات الأمن التركيان المدعومان بآلاف المليشيات الكردية الموالية لها في إنزال ضربات مؤثرة في مسلحي حزب العمال الكردستاني، بعد أن استخدم الجيش طائراته المسيرة بكثرة، في جنوب شرقي البلاد وشمالي العراق، وعلى طول الحدود التركية مع العراق وإيران وسوريا. 

قيادات قنديل وبغياب زعيمها عبد الله أوجلان المسجون منذ شباط/فبراير عام 1999، يبدو أنها قد نسيت أو تناست أن من اختطف أوجلان من العاصمة الكينية نيروبي وسلّمه إلى تركيا، هو الاستخبارات الأميركية بالتنسيق مع الموساد الإسرائيلي.

 كما أنها نسيت أو تناست كيف ارتعشت خوفاً، عندما قال الرئيس الأميركي السابق دونالد ترامب في  29آذار/مارس من عام  2018″إن القوات الأميركية ستغادر سوريا قريباً جداً، وتترك الأطراف الأخرى تهتم بالأمر”، وقصد بذلك الحرب على داعش ثمّ التهديدات التركية باجتياح المنطقة. وهي نسيت كذلك أو تناست أن ترامب هو الذي أشعل الضوء الأخضر للرئيس إردوغان، الذي أمر الجيش التركي بالتوغّل، شرق الفرات، في التاسع من تشرين الأول/أكتوبر عام 2019، (وهو نفس اليوم الذي غادر فيه أوجلان سوريا قبل 19 عاماً بعد أن بقي فيها 15 عاماً)، لتسيطر على الشريط الحدودي، بين تل أبيض ورأس العين (نحو 100 كلم) وتطرد المسلحين الكرد من المنطقة. 

ونسيت كذلك أو تناست أن الجيش التركي كاد يسيطر على الشريط الحدودي السوري مع تركيا سيطرة كاملة، شرق الفرات، لولا تدخّل موسكو وإرسال القوات الروسية إلى المنطقة، وتسيير دوريات مشتركة مع الجيش التركي في المنطقة. 

وهي أيضاً نسيت أو تناست أنها السبب في اجتياح الجيش التركي في كانون الثاني/يناير عام 2018 منطقة عفرين والسيطرة عليها تماماً، بعد أن رفضت التنسيق والعمل المشترك مع الجيش السوري لمنع الجيش التركي من القيام بمثل هذا الاجتياح. 

ولم تستخلص كذلك الدروس اللازمة من حواراتها مع الرئيس إردوغان بهدف حل المشكلة الكردية في تركيا وسوريا معاً، إذ أخفقت كل هذه الحوارات، ليس في حل المشكلة الكردية وحسب، بل في تخلية سبيل زعيم الحزب، عبد الله أوجلان، وهو في سجن انفرادي في جزيرة إيمرالي القريبة من إسطنبول. 

ولم يكتف إردوغان بذلك، بل أمر بوضع الزعيمين المشتركين لحزب الشعوب الديمقراطي (الجناح السياسي لحزب العمال الكردستاني) صلاح الدين دميرطاش، وفيكان يوكساكداغ، وعدد آخر من قيادات الحزب، ورؤساء البلديات والآلاف من أنصار وأتباع وكوادر الحزب في السجون على الرغم من سيطرة هذا الحزب على الشارع الكردي.

وتبيّن استطلاعات الرأي أنه قد يحصل على 12٪ من مجموع أصوات الناخبين في تركيا، وعددهم نحو 60 مليوناً. 

وعودة إلى مواقف قيادات قنديل، يبدو أيضاً أنها قد نسيت أو تناست كيف نسّقت مع أنقرة للعمل المشترك، ما بين عامي 2013 و2015، حيث زار زعيم حزب الاتحاد الديمقراطي الكردستاني السوري صالح مسلم تركيا مرات عدة، والتقى القيادات التركية التي طلبت إليه التمرّد على دمشق، فرفض ليكون ذلك الموقف الإيجابي الوحيد له ولرفاقه، ولكن بعد أن جاءت القوات الأميركية إلى شرق الفرات لتساعدهم في حربهم على داعش، وهو ما استغلته القيادات المذكورة لتدخله في حساباتها الخاصة، التي اعتقدت أنها ستساعدها في إقامة كيان كردي مستقل شرق الفرات.

وأياً كانت التسمية خصوصاً بعدما سارع عدد من العواصم الغربية ولا سيما باريس، وبرلين، ولندن، بل وحتى “تل أبيب” لدعمها وفق حساباتها الخاصة، ومنها تشجيع قيادات “قسد” الكردية على تكريد المنطقة، وتطهيرها عرقياً بسكوت وتواطؤ من القيادات العربية في “قسد”. ومن دون أن تستذكر القيادات المذكورة مواقف واشنطن والعواصم الغربية، التي اعترضت على استفتاء مسعود البرزاني على استقلال كردستان العراقي في أيلول/سبتمبر عام 2017، وهو ما اعترض عليه إردوغان “الحليف الإستراتيجي للبرزاني”.

ويبقى السؤال الأهم وربما الوحيد: لماذا اتخذت وتتخذ القيادات الكردية كل هذه المواقف المتناقضة؟ ولماذا لا تستخلص الدروس اللازمة من كل أخطائها، ومن تاريخ الحركة الكردية في تركيا وسوريا والعراق بل ومن إيران كذلك؟

يتذكر الجميع كيف كان الكرد وما زالوا ورقة تلوّح بها الأطراف الخارجية في تآمرها على دول المنطقة التي دعمت كرد الدول الأخرى، فيما حاربت كردها داخل حدودها. كما استعدى الكرد بعضهم بعضاً في هذه الدول الأربع، ودخلوا في صراعات مسلحة ودموية فيما بينهم، تارة من أجل المصالح والسلطة، وتارة أخرى خدمةً لأطراف خارجية، كما هي الحال في تحالف مسعود البرزاني مع أنقرة، تارة ضد الراحل جلال الطالباني، وتارة أخرى ضد حزب العمال الكردستاني التركي وزعيمه عبد الله أوجلان. ومن دون أن يخطر في بال البرزاني وأمثاله، أن العواصم الإقليمية والغربية لم تفكر، ولن تفكر في حقوق الكرد، بل استخدمتهم وتستخدمهم وستستخدمهم إلى الأبد لتحقيق أهدافها الخبيثة، التي تستهدف دول المنطقة وشعوبها برمتها، وفي مقدمهم الكرد، ومعهم العرب، والفرس، والأتراك، وغيرهم. 

وهذا ما تحقّق للعواصم الغربية والإقليمية بفضل الدور الذي أداه ويؤديه الكرد في العراق، والآن في سوريا التي لولا تآمر القيادات الكردية (الماركسية سابقاً) في شرقها مع المحتل الأميركي والأوروبي، لما وصلت الأمور إلى ما وصلت إليه في المنطقة وسوريا خصوصاً، ولولاها لما تذرعت تركيا بهم لتتوغل في الشمال السوري وتسيطر على 9٪ من مجمل الأرض السورية. 

كذلك فإن الواقع المفروض شرق الفرات بدعم أميركي، هو مبرّر كافٍ لأنقرة لتبقى في المناطق التي تسيطر عليها قواتها بالتنسيق والتعاون مع عشرات الآلاف من مسلحي ما يسمّى “الجيش الوطني” المعارض و”النصرة” وحليفاتها الإرهابية. 

وتتحدث المعلومات هنا باستمرار عن حسابات تركية للاستفادة منهم حين اللزوم ضد الكرد، سواء في داخل تركيا أو في الشّمال السوري، وقد يكون ذلك ما قصده ترامب عندما قال في آذار/مارس عام 2018 “سنغادر سوريا ونترك الأطراف الأخرى تهتم بالأمر فيما بينها”. وفي اتصاله الهاتفي بإردوغان في 24 من كانون الأول/ديسمبر عام 2018 قال: “لقد أنهينا مهمتنا وسوف ننسحب من هناك وسوريا كلها لك”!

ويبقى الرهان في جميع الحالات على التطورات المحتملة ليس في سوريا فقط وتوتّراتها مع تركيا، بل على الخريطة السياسية التي يراهن البعض عليها كنتيجة لزيارة الرئيس بايدن للسعودية في 15 من الشهر المقبل، ولقائه زعماء الخليج، ومصر، والأردن، والعراق، وهو ما سينعكس مباشرة على مجمل معطيات المنطقة، وأهمها: الملف النووي الإيراني، والوضع في سوريا وانعكاسات ذلك على كل الحسابات بصورة مباشرة أو غير مباشرة. فعسى ألا يكون الكرد مادتها الحارقة، التي ستحرقهم، وتحرق كل الذين عاشوا ويعيشون معهم منذ مئات السنين بكل أيامهم الحلوة والمرة. وعسى أن يستخلص حكام دول المنطقة بدورهم، وخصوصاً في سوريا والعراق وإيران الدروس الكافية من كل ما عاشته، وتعيشه دولهم والمنطقة عموماً، ويسدوا الطريق على الأعداء الذين يعرفهم الجميع، وخصوصاً الكرد ومنذ أكثر من مئة سنة على الأقل!

إن الآراء المذكورة في هذه المقالة لا تعبّر بالضرورة عن رأي الميادين وإنما تعبّر عن رأي صاحبها حصراً

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‘Russia has restored a missing international balance’: Syrian president

Bashar al-Assad also said Syria is ready to confront Turkey’s military occupation of its northern region

June 09 2022

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Hemeimeem air base, Syria on 11 December 2017. (Photo credit: Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

ByNews Desk

In an interview with Russia Today (RT) on 9 June, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addressed the Turkish plan to invade northern Syria, and talked about the role Russia plays in the world.

In particular, the Syrian leader praised the repositioning of the Kremlin on the global scale, saying it has restored a much needed international balance.

“We can look at Russia from two angles: the angle of the ally who, if he wins a battle or if his political position on the world stage becomes stronger, this is profitable for us, and from another angle Russia’s strength today constitutes a restoration of balance,” President al-Assad said.

He went on to highlight that this previously missing international balance is helpful for besieged nations, such as Syria, on a strategic level.

President Assad also addressed the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, promising to resist any Turkish incursion into Syrian lands.

“Syria will resist any Turkish invasion of its lands at the official and popular levels,” the Syrian president stated.

“Two and a half years ago, a clash occurred between the Syrian and Turkish armies, and the Syrian army was able to destroy some Turkish targets that entered Syrian territory, and the situation will be the same as the capabilities allow. Otherwise, there will be popular resistance,” Al-Assad said.

The Turkish military began a new military campaign in Syria on 25 May, launching an offensive on several villages in the northwestern countryside of Hasakah governorate and the city of Afrin, targeting Kurdish militias, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Erdogan said the operation will resume efforts to establish a 30-kilometer ‘safe zone’ along Turkey’s southern borders, claiming threats from the PKK and the People’s Defense Units (YPG).

Russia recently began bombing Turkish-backed rebels in Syria for the first time since the start of the war, with airstrikes on the Syrian–Turkish border on 27 May and on the Aleppo countryside on 29 May.

Syrian Revolutionaries are Revolting against Turkey

 JUNE 5, 2022

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° 

Steven Sahiounie
Hundreds of Syrians took to the streets in the city of Afrin on June 3 to protest against routine blackouts and a sharp hike in the prices of electricity provided by Turkey.  The electricity is available a mere 10 hours per day, while the summer temperatures are 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) in recent days.

Afrin, in the Aleppo province, has been under Turkish military occupation since 2018, after President Trump gave Turkish President Erdogan the green light to invade Syria.

The protesters stormed the main building of the local electricity company, “Turkish-Syrian Energy” or STE Enerji company, and set it on fire before Turkish-backed mercenaries opened fire on them.  The protesters also set fire to Afrin’s local council building.

The areas occupied by the Turkish military also have Syrian mercenaries in the employ of the Turkish government.  The mercenaries are from the now defunct ‘Free Syrian Army’ which was organized by President Obama and supported by US Senator John McCain.  The mercenaries follow a political ideology called Radical Islam, which is the same ideology as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Muslim Brotherhood.  Erdogan and his ruling party, AKP, are followers of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Local reports say at least one protester was killed and two others were injured. As the protests grew in size, demonstrators were seen chanting “Turks go out of Syria” and “Syria is free.”

Similar protests were reported in the cities of Jindires, Suran Marea, and Al-Bab, also in the Aleppo governorate. In Marea, protesters set the local headquarters of the Turkish-backed Local Council on fire.

Shortly after these protests swept through Aleppo, Turkish forces shelled a high voltage power line that supplies power to Tal Tamr and other villages in the countryside of Hasakah governorate, leaving the area in a black-out.

Afrin was occupied by Turkey and its mercenaries during the military offensive against the Kurdish fighters in 2018, causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Since the invasion, the residents have suffered through violations of human rights, lack of basic services, and constant insecurity.

Similar protests were reported in other Syrian cities under Turkish occupation such as Azaz on Friday. Discontent has been brewing against the Turkish occupation, as mercenaries allied with Turkish forces have been accused of embezzling millions in humanitarian aid and of using the global fuel and wheat crisis to hike the price of daily necessities.

Turkey proposed attack

The demonstrations come as Erdogan has renewed his threats to carry out a fresh military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria. Recently he announced that his troops will proceed with the planned military invasion of Syria, starting with the cities of Tal Rifaat and Manbij.

The operation will resume efforts to establish a 30-kilometer long ‘safe zone’ along Turkey’s southern borders to curb threats from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which Ankara labels as terrorist organizations.

Turkey says US-backed SDF forces pose a threat to its borders, and in response, Turkish troops have occupied large swathes of northern Syria.

In northeastern Syria, US and Russian forces mobilized intending to stop Turkey from carrying out a new attack against SDF. While US forces moved on the ground, Russian warplanes scrambled in the air.

Fighters of the Syrian opposition factions loyal to Turkey

Residents of Manbij, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, have documented the outcome of the attacks, warning that the Turkish operation will lead to the displacement of the indigenous population and the city’s religious, sectarian, and ethnic components.

Turkey informed the United States it is committed to taking necessary measures against “terrorist organizations” threatening its national security, and that it will not tolerate the escalation of attacks against Turkish territory from the areas controlled by the US-backed SDF in northern Syria.

Ankara reports that the risk of terrorist attacks from SDF-run areas in Syria against Turkey has increased recently, and emphasized that the PKK-affiliated terrorist organizations are an existential threat not only to Syria’s territorial integrity but also to Turkey’s national security.

Ankara considers the SDF, and its military backbone, the YPG, a terrorist organization and an extension of the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey and the US, and the EU.

The US position

US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, visited the border between Turkey and Syria to assess a long-running UN operation delivering humanitarian aid into northwest Syria, near Hatay, Turkey on June 2, 2022.

UN trucks delivering food and aid into Syria from Turkey were observed and reported by Serena Shim, an American journalist. She saw they contained armed terrorists and weapons being delivered into northern Syria. Not long after her reporting, she was mysteriously killed in a car accident, after a cement truck hit her small car in Turkey.  The accident and the driver were never investigated, even though he fled the scene.

In 2017 President Trump shut down the CIA operations which funded, trained, and supported Radical Islamic terrorists in Turkey to fight in Syria for regime change.

Turkey informed the United States it is committed to taking necessary measures against “terrorist organizations” threatening its national security, and that it will not tolerate the escalation of attacks against Turkish territory from the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.

The US occupies areas in Syria, and the US military was tasked by Trump with stealing the oil produced in the largest oil field in Syria and allowing the US-backed SDF to sell the oil to fund their operation.

The Russian position

The Russian military was invited into Syria by the government in 2015. Russia has fought against ISIS, Al Qaeda, and all affiliated terrorist groups which follow Radical Islam.  The Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed in Russia, Syria, Egypt, and the UAE. US Senator Ted Cruz has tried to pass legislation in the US Congress to designate the Muslim Brotherhood in the US as a terrorist group but came up against heavy opposition from both Democrats and Republicans who are influenced by the group.

Recently, the Russian army reinforced its ground and air forces at the airport of Qamishli, in Hasakah province.

The Turkish military and Radical Islamic mercenaries   

Turkey concluded two separate deals with both the United States and Russia during its Operation Peace Spring, which it launched in northern Syria on October 9, 2019.

According to the agreements, Russia and the US pledged to withdraw YPG units to a depth of 30 km to the south of the Turkish border, but Ankara says they did not fulfill their promises.

Washington says that Turkey did not abide by the understanding signed between them. Russia had a signed agreement with Turkey to secure the M4 highway from Latakia to Aleppo, by removing all Al Qaeda groups from Idlib.  However, Turkey has protected and reinforced the terrorist groups in Idlib, which is the last terrorist-occupied area in Syria.  Turkey established a network of military outposts which protect the Al Qaeda affiliated groups who occupy Idlib.  The highway remains closed to trucks and passengers for fear of attack.

SDF, YPG, PKK

During the chaos of the US-NATO attack on Syria, which began in 2011, some Kurds in Syria formed military units and got the backing of the US government, while advancing a separatist agenda in the region.  The SDF and YPG were partners with the US troops who invaded Syria to fight ISIS.  This US support of a terrorist group that has killed 40,000 people in Turkey over decades has driven a very big wedge between Ankara and Washington, DC.

Turkey’s proposed safe zone

Under Erdogan’s plan, he will rid the north of Syria of the terrorist group who plans to establish their own ‘homeland’ there, and he will convert the area into a safe zone to settle Syrian refugees now living in Turkey.  The Turkish people have decided the refugees must go home, and they blame all their economic woes on the Syrian refugees.

Pro-Turkey revolutionary

Zahran Alloush had been the leader of a Radical Islamic terrorist group, Islamic Army, backed by Saudi Arabia in East Ghouta, the suburbs of Damascus, along with his brother, Mohamed Alloush, who now lives in Turkey and owns a chain of restaurants there.

In 2016 he was an official with the Syrian National Coalition, which the US government recognizes as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people.  His position was the chief negotiator representing the US position in the Geneva talks to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict.  In 2017 he was chosen as the speaker of the delegation for the revolutionary movements at the Astana peace process talks for peace in Syria.

After he resigned, he was accused of stealing $ 47 million, which he embezzled from funds supplied to the terrorists in Syria to fight the US-sponsored regime change.

Recently, he bought a company in Turkey that mines chrome, Al Ghuraba, (The Strangers).

---

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist

NATO Proxy Terrorists Clash with Heavy Weapons in Northern Syria

MAY 12, 2022

ARABI SOURI

NATO proxies of the US-sponsored Kurdish SDF separatist terrorists and the Turkey-sponsored Al Qaeda and its affiliated terrorist groups exchanged mortar shelling in the northern countryside of Aleppo, the fratricide is ongoing since yesterday evening and until the time of this report.

The artillery and mortar shelling caused material damage in the targeted villages without losses in lives, none reported by the belligerent parties, which could be to keep the morale of their personnel.

Propaganda outlets of the Kurdish SDF separatist terrorists claimed that the villages of Samouqa and Umm Al Qura in the Al Shahba area in the northern Aleppo countryside were shelled with artillery by the Turkey-sponsored terrorists, 12 projectiles struck the villages today, Thursday 12 May.

The video is also available on Rumble and BitChute.

One of the Kurdish propaganda outlets provided a video report of what it said is a heavy shelling shortly after midnight by the Turkish army and its so-called ‘National Army’ proxy in the eastern countryside of Ain Eissa city in the northern Raqqa countryside.

The Kurdish SDF terrorists on their part shelled villages under the control of the Turkish-sponsored Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups, the shelling targeted the village of Masha’ala in the northern countryside of Afrin, northwest of Aleppo,

Locals in the northern Syrian city of Jarabulus reported the artillery shelling by the Kurdish SDF terrorists against the city led to the injuries of two children, with no elaboration on the status of the two victims.

These clashes between NATO’s different proxy terrorist groups have been ongoing ever since NATO’s incursion in northern Syria first by the terrorist groups of the FSA followed by the Nusra Front (Al Qaeda Levant aka Nusra Front aka HTS) which ISIS took over from and then directly by NATO’s largest and second-largest armies, the US, and the Turkish, with their sponsored proxies.

The clashes between the foreign occupying forces in northern and northeastern Syria have resulted in much material damage, thousands of people killed, maimed, tens of thousands uprooted and displaced, and millions oppressed until this very day. NATO is working on its plan to Israelize the areas it currently occupies in Syria, mainly the areas where Syria’s main oil fields and the country’s food basket, by uprooting the local Syrians and replacing them with terrorists and their families sponsored by, and loyal to NATO.

Erdogan’s Plan to Israelize Northern Syria with a Million Settlers on Track

• Brussels VI New Sykes-Picot Still Excludes Syria from Syria Meeting
• President Assad Visits Iran, Meets Iranian Leaders Khamenei and Raisi

Why Russia Protects the YPG in Syria

November 16, 2021

Moscow regards the legitimate Syrian opposition as a bigger threat than the YPG.

Russian military vehicles drive on the road as Russia makes a new military and logistic reinforcement of 30 vehicles to its military points in Kamisli occupied by YPG, Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist organization on September 14, 2020 Photo by Samer Uveyd, Anadolu Images

For years, the Turkish public criticized the U.S. administrations for their support of the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist organization, which poses a threat to Syria’s territorial integrity and a national security threat to Turkey. At the same time, Russia also tried to use the YPG as a card against Turkey in 2015 and early 2016, but later changed its position and declared its support for the territorial integrity of Syria, and acknowledged the threat the group poses against Turkey. However, in the end of 2019, Russia viewed the partial American withdrawal as an opportunity and re-changed its position again.

In this manner, in 2018, Russia withdrew from the Afrin region and opened the way for the joint Turkish-Syrian military operation of the Syrian National Army (SNA), the former Free Syrian Army (FSA), and the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) against the YPG.

Moreover, Russia accepted to exclude YPG figures from the Syrian constitutional committee and signed several Astana resolutions which define the YPG as a threat to Syria’s territorial integrity. However, Russia changed its approach to the YPG following Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring and became – along with the U.S. – the new military protector of the YPG in Syria.

Read: The Only Way Out for Russia Is to Let Turkey Weaken the YPG

Why did Russia change its attitude towards the YPG? In order to understand this policy change, one should first analyze Russia’s overall Syria policy before Operation Peace Spring. No doubt, for Moscow, autonomy and federal governments or other forms of decentralized government are not a threat to the territorial integrity of a state since Russia itself is a federation. Nobody should expect Russia to oppose a federal system in Syria.

Therefore, Russia does not recognize the PKK and its Syrian branch, the YPG, as terror groups, and, in principle, does not oppose the YPG per se; however, Russia opposes the YPG’s current policies. For Moscow, the YPG’s partnership with the United States has been the main source of its distrust toward the organization. Moscow wants the YPG to quit working with the U.S. and cooperate with the Russia-backed Assad regime. Until Operation Peace Spring, all Russian charm efforts failed and the YPG remained loyal to the United States.

With Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria, the YPG felt the urgent need to invite the Assad regime and Russia to provide military protection against Turkey and the Syrian Interim Government. The YPG’s request was seen by Moscow as a golden opportunity to gain extensive leverage. Russia wanted to fill the void and was further encouraged when U.S. CENTCOM officials decided to hand over their bases to the Russian military rather than seeing a further push by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army.

Read: The YPG Myth Downplays a Danger For the West

With this momentum, Russia deployed its troops to Manbij, Ayn al-Arab (Kobane), Ayn Issa, Tal Tamr, Dirbasiyah, and Amudah along the front lines or the border region, and entered the towns of Tabqah and Raqqa. As Russia had troops in the YPG-held Tal Rifaat pocket since 2016, with this development, the YPG was on the verge of coming under full Russian military protection.

Moscow was expecting to enter the far east of Syria at the Iraqi border and the oil-rich region of Deir Ezzor in the southeast, but Trump’s decision to protect the oil hindered Russia from doing so. U.S. soldiers stayed in a strip in the east of the country and prevented Russia from entering. Since then, the YPG militants maintained a balancing act between Moscow and Washington as demonstrated by the visit of the PKK veteran and head of the political supreme body of the YPG, Elham Ahmad, to Moscow before heading to Washington.

Following the partial U.S. withdrawal and the new Russian protection of the YPG, Turkey signed two separate deals with the U.S. and Russia. The deal with the U.S. stopped the SNA-TAF advancement and canceled U.S. sanctions against Turkey in return.

Read: Why Turkey Is Dismantling the YPG from Northern Syria

The deal with Russia was more comprehensive. After Operation Peace Spring, the YPG invited the Assad regime and Russia to protect the front lines against a further push by the joint Turkish-Syrian forces, and Russia obligated itself under the terms of the deal to enforce a full withdrawal of all YPG forces from Tal Rifaat, Manbij, and an area extending 32 km from the Turkish border in the east of the Euphrates to the border with Iraq. The deal also foresaw joint Turkish-Russian patrols in a 10-kilometer-wide strip across the Turkish-Syrian border. Except for the joint patrols, Russia failed to deliver on any of the terms of the agreement.

Let alone keeping their promise, Russians have done the opposite and supported the YPG in its terror campaign against the Syrian Interim Government and Turkey. The YPG engaged in several attacks with various weapon systems against civilian-populated areas of the Syrian Interim Government such as Afrin, Azaz, Al-Bab, Jarablus, Tal Abyad, and Rasulayn.

The YPG used new models of Russian-supplied anti-tank guided missiles to target Turkish soldiers

The YPG used new models of Russian-supplied anti-tank guided missiles to target Turkish soldiers, infiltrated the front lines to kill SNA soldiers, and operated a network of cells in the areas of the Syrian Interim Government located in northern Syria. With these cells, the YPG could plant IEDs and attempt assassinations against the SNA, Syrian local politicians, and Turkish soldiers.

Read: The YPG Has a Bloody History in Syria, But the West Turns a Blind Eye

The YPG used the Russian-protected areas as a safe zone to conduct ranged artillery attacks against hospitals and civilian infrastructure. Yet, the most brutal of the YPG attacks were the constant car bomb attacks carried out in urban areas which randomly killed innocent civilians.

The YPG tries to maintain plausible deniability and rejects responsibility. However, car bombs intercepted at crossing points from YPG-held areas to the areas of the Syrian Interim Government, and the logic behind the attacks leave no doubt about who the perpetrators are. The YPG’s foreign backers, like the U.S., condemn the attacks without naming any suspect or culprit, or turn a blind eye to them entirely, like Russia.

For Moscow, the YPG’s systematic use of terror is a preferred tool to prevent the Syrian Interim Government from establishing a sustainable alternative to the Assad regime without getting into a confrontation with Turkey. The attacks are not conducted directly by Russia, but by the YPG, and the U.S. support and protection of the YPG shields Russia from Turkish criticism.  The Turkish public focuses on the U.S. support of the YPG rather than the military protection Russia provides the YPG and its pragmatic attitude to the YPG’s terror campaign.

In fact, Russian policy shows that Moscow regards the legitimate Syrian opposition as a bigger threat than the YPG. For Russia, the Syrian Interim Government is a direct alternative to the Assad regime, and the YPG represents only a territorially limited pursuit of autonomy. Therefore, Russia prefers to protect the YPG in order to disrupt the Syrian Interim Government rather than implementing its obligations stemming from the Turkish-Russian agreement of 2019.

In fairness, it should be underlined that the Russian position regarding the YPG’s demand to establish an autonomous region in northeast Syria has changed in line with the Astana accords. In the negotiations between the Assad regime and the YPG, Moscow puts its weight behind the regime’s categorical rejection of autonomy. In line with the Astana agreements, Russia rejects the separatist agenda of the YPG on paper. While the U.S. actively supports the political ambitions of the YPG in Syria, Russia supports the military presence of the YPG only as a temporary tool.

VIDEO: Exploiting the Female Body: The YPG Case

Daraa Peace Plan Moves Terrorists to Turkish Occupied Syria

August 28, 2021

By Steven Sahiounie

Global Research,

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the “Translate Website” drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). 

Visit and follow us on Instagram at @crg_globalresearch.

***

Today, a bus load Syrian Arab Army (SAA) soldiers has come under attack on the road to the west of Daraa, with reports of one killed and eight injured. Tuesday, a Russian-backed deal went into force in Daraa, ending months-long tension between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and local terrorists there.  In late July, clashes of artillery began between the two sides.  The city in the south of Syria, on the Jordanian border, had been in military conflict which held the civilian population in peril, resulting in residents fleeing the situation.

The Russian military police entered Daraa al-Balad neighborhood to evacuate terrorists who refused to lay down their arms and receive amnesty from the SAA.  Terrorists on Tuesday night boarded buses to take them to Afrin in the north of Syria, as part of the deal. Those armed fighters who have received amnesty, and laid down their weapons, will remain in the city.

Once the terrorists are removed, the SAA will enter the area, and life will return to normal for the residents who had become hostages.  Thousands of residents who had fled the fighting will be assisted by the SAA to return home, and government institutions such as medical care will be made available, and free public schools are set to resume in mid-September.

Daraa al-Balad neighborhood is home to about 40,000 people, and it had become a critical situation with extreme challenges getting access to food and power.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) placed the number of internally displaced people in Daraa al-Balad area and surrounding areas in province at 38,000, including almost 15,000 women and over 20,400 children.

History of Daraa

Violence broke out in March 2011 in Daraa, which began the 10-year conflict in Syria.  The SAA freed Daraa in 2018 in a Russian-brokered deal which saw terrorists and their families being evacuated to Idlib, and some remaining fighters worked out a deal with the SAA, by which they would peacefully man some checkpoints inside Daraa al-Balad, while the SAA would man other checkpoints.  However, the deal fell apart over time because the fighters repeatedly targeted the SAA using snipers on motorcycles. By July, open fighting between the two-sides began.

Afrin today

Turkey occupies Afrin, and uses their militia, Syrian National Army (SNA) to keep the local population in subjugation. The SNA, despite its name, is not Syrian administered, but is under the Turkish military control, and are mercenaries following Radical Islam.War or Peace: Turkish backed Terrorists, Erdogan’s Decision on Idlib

Turkish charities operate in Afrin distributing food to Syrian Arabs who have been shipped in to displace the original population which was a mixture of Kurds, Christians and Arabs.

Turkey conducted Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20, 2018, to clear Afrin from the militia known as YPG, who is part of the US-supported SDF militia who fought to defeat ISIS.  By March 18 Afrin had been ethnically cleansed by Turkey.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of invasion operations across its border in northern Syria: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019. The goal is to create a Turkish administered border swath, which Turkey originally tried to sell to the West as a ‘safe-zone’, but is actually a Muslim Brotherhood safe haven.

Recently, the SNA abducted a number of civilians in Afrin. The battalions named, “al-Jabha al-Shamiya” and the “Sultan Murad Division” have imposed a crippling siege on the locals as they have raided the citizens’ houses and kidnapped more than 30 civilians and took them to an unknown destination.

The sources added that the abducted persons have been exposed to the worst forms of abuse, torture and insults since they have demanded to restore their properties which have been seized by the Turkish occupation mercenaries.

History of ethnic cleansing in Afrin

The National Initiative for Afrin in the German city of Bonn stressed the coordination and unification of efforts working for Afrin and its people, and confronting the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, and the safe and dignified return of the forcibly displaced residents of Afrin. This initiative aims to expose Turkey’s violations against residents of Syria’s Afrin to international institutions and human rights organizations participating in the initiative.

After Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria, the fighters it sent across the border to carry out the mission have documented their own war crimes. Videos posted online by soldiers of the Turkish-backed SNA showing summary executions, mutilation of corpses, threats against Kurds and widespread looting have struck terror into the population.

The ethnic dimension to many of the crimes has resulted in a mass exodus of Kurds and religious minorities from these once diverse borderlands, and created a dramatic demographic change.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, claimed his invasion of Syria was aimed at removing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group Turkey classifies as a terror organization for its links to the PKK, and YPG. Turkey has supported the operation with airstrikes, drones and artillery.

Since the invasion began, the SNA has captured a swathe of territory that was home to a large population of Kurds, and smaller numbers of Assyrians, Yazidis and Turkmen. The same area faced massive upheaval when ISIS swept across northern Syria. Tal Abyad was occupied by the terror group for more than a year before being recaptured by the SDF.

Christian families have all been forced to leave their homes as the SNA made public threats to kill them, referring to them as pigs and heathens.  The SNA have uploaded their videos targeting Christians, and non-Sunni Muslims.

A widespread campaign of looting and confiscation of Kurdish property has made clear Turkey and their SNA militia want to keep Kurds out. Human Rights Watch said it had documented numerous examples of Kurdish homes being confiscated and their possessions looted.

A United Nations commission of inquiry found that “armed group members in Afrin committed the war crimes of hostage-taking, cruel treatment, torture, and pillage”.

More than 130,000 mostly Kurdish residents are still displaced from Afrin, living in camps in the SDF-held region of northeast Syria. Many of their homes are now occupied by Syrians from other parts of the country.

NATO has been criticized for allowing a member state, Turkey, to carry out large scale ethnic cleansing in Syria.  However, since the war in Syria beginning in 2011 was a US-NATO project for ‘regime change’, NATO is not complaining to Turkey, who was their partner in the 10-year war.

Idlib today

On Tuesday, an explosion killed eight Al Qaeda terrorists, and wounded 10 others, in Idlib.  The terrorists were meeting when the blast occurred.  Russia and Turkey have a ceasefire deal in Idlib, but it does not cover Al Qaeda. According to the UN, all nations must fight Al Qaeda, wherever they are.  However, Turkey occupies Idlib and supports the Al Qaeda branch there, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Turkey currently hosts nearly 4 million Syrians; however, most of the Syrian refugees in Turkey today are Sunni Muslims. Erdogan plans to resettle the Syrian refugees in the border area under Turkish military occupation, and it will permanently alter the demographics. This area stretching from Idlib province to Afrin will become a safe haven for terrorists aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda.

*

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This article was originally published on Mideast Discourse.

Steven Sahiounie is an award-winning journalist. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from MD

A HARD LIFE FOR TURKEY AND ITS PROXIES IN NORTHERN SYRIA

 09.04.2021 

South Front

In the North of Syria, the Turkish armed forces and the factions backed by Ankara are attempting to move and are being punished.

This is the case in Greater Idlib, where a Turkish army convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) as it was passing on a road between the towns of al-Bara and Ehsim in the southern part of Idlib.

Saryat Ansar Abu Baker As-Siddiq, a newly-founded al-Qaeda-linked group with unknown origins, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The IED attack was in response to insults to Muslim women in Afrin and Aleppo.

Meanwhile in Afrin, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that two of its soldiers were killed.
The Afrin Liberation Forces (ALF) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group also released a video showing the two Turkish soldiers being targeted with an anti-tank guided missile during a well-planned ambush in the village of Gobele.

In response, the Turkish Army shelled positions held by Kurdish forces in the town of Tell Rifaat and its outskirts.

Three Kurdish fighters were killed.

In Aleppo, the Turkish proxies are not without success. the Syrian National Army (SNA) shot down an armed drone that was flying over the Turkish-occupied northern part of the countryside.

The drone was a locally-modified copy of the commercially-available X-UAV mini-Talon, used by Kurdish groups.

While the Kurdish forces lose their drones, the Ansar Allah are putting theirs to good use in Yemen.

Early on April 8, the group announced that it had launched a Qasef-2K suicide drone at the Saudi King Khalid Air Base in the southern province of ‘Asir.

The Houthis (as Ansar Allah are more commonly known) said that the drone had struck its target successfully.

On the other hand, the Saudi-led coalition claimed that it had shot down the drone over the city of Khamis Mushait, near King Khalid Air Base.

In the late hours of April 8th, the Houthis targeted the Jizan airport in the southwest of the Kingdom with a Qasef-2K drone.

The airport contains hangars for Saudi warplanes used to carry out airstrikes throughout Yemen.

Additionally, a commander of the Seventh Military District of the Saudi-led coalition was killed in west of the city of Marib.

The Houthis are keeping up their pressure towards the city, despite constant airstrikes by Riyadh’s warplanes.

The Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes appear to be of little effectiveness.

The volatility in the Middle East continues, with rather small movements taking place in most locations.

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Why do ISIS terrorists and Turkish regime kill Yazidis?

Source

Saturday, 20 June 2020 14:11

Why have ISIS terrorists and the Turkish regime killed and captured thousands of Yazidis in Iraq and Syria while the international community has done almost nothing to document the 2014 genocide in Iraq’s Sinjar by ISIS [Its Arabic Acronym is DAESH]?

Turkey, a NATO member, never bombed Iraq’s Sinjar when it was besieged by ISIS. It waited until Yazidis returned before claiming it needed to bomb “terrorist” targets.

In August 2018, Turkey assassinated a Yazidi leader who was driving back from a memorial service for genocide victims, alleging he was a PKK leader, according to media reports that affirmed there are still up to 3,000 missing people kidnapped by ISIS, mostly women and children. The community, which suffered genocide, now faces a new threat of airstrikes.

“On August 3, 2014, the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, IS, Daesh) terrorist group attacked the Yezidis in Shingal, Iraq. Yezidis are an ethno-religious minority in Iraq. ISIS killed or captured nearly 10,000 Yezidis. They forced them to convert to Islam or be killed. ISIS enslaved and sexually abused the women and girls. They brainwashed the boys and used them as suicide bombers. They executed the men. They sold the babies and toddlers to raise them as Muslim. This was the 74th recorded Yezidi genocide,” Dr. Amy L. Beam, an American researcher, writer and human rights advocate said in her book “The Last Yezidi Genocide” which was published in English paperback on Amazon in 2019.

The 362- pages book contains heart wrenching stories of survivors of ISIS captivity, their dangerous escapes, and eye witnesses testimonies to the atrocities. Half of the book is the author’s narrative analysis explaining the culture, history, evidence, and politics of the genocide in Iraq. 3,000 Yezidis remain missing.

“The Last Yezidi Genocide” by Dr. Amy L. Beam

The United Nations recognized the Yezidi genocide in 2016, established a UN committee to investigate the genocide in 2018, and funded it in 2019. This book, which is the result of four years of interviews provides evidence of the genocide. It should be required reading for any researcher, scholar, social worker, or policy-maker studying terrorism, genocide, immigration and asylum, and the Middle East.

 She was living in southeast Turkey expanding her tourism business when 20,000 Yezidis fled over the mountains from the barbaric ISIS terrorists’ attack upon their homeland of Shingal, Iraq, in which 10,000 Yezidis were killed or captured in August 2014.

A Yazidi woman, Sara showed Beam the IDs of her husband and two small children whom had been captured.  Beam explains, “I got up to hug Sara, and she broke down in sobs, then fainted in my arms.  Then her mother fainted. People showed me photos of beheaded men and piles of dead bodies.  They gave me lists of their abducted family members.  I was the only outsider there, and I could not turn away from this tragedy. I knew I had to alert the world to this crisis, but the enormity of the responsibility left me trembling inside.”  Since that day, Beam has not stopped campaigning to help the Yezidis get international asylum and aid.

In 2018, Beam moved to Shingal city and she was the only foreigner with permission to live there.  

She states, “I came to report the truth to the world because judges in Europe were denying asylum to Ezidis who had risked their lives to get there. The courts are erroneously claiming that it is safe to return to their villages in Shingal. I came to Shingal to video the empty villages and report that there is no electricity, no water, no infrastructure, and no means of livelihood. It is impossible under current conditions for Ezidis to return from their camps to their villages. There is no solution in sight.”

Beam has gotten more than 700 Iraqi IDs and passports for survivors of ISIS captivity and rape. Most of them received asylum in Germany, France, Australia, and Canada. While meeting the survivors many wanted to share their stories with her.

Heart wrenching stories

She narrates in her book a lot of stories, including the story of  three sisters who are survivors of three and four years’ captivity with ISIS terrorists.

“The three sisters now live in Australia. ISIS killed their father on  August 3, 2014, in Tal Ezeer, Shingal, northern Iraq. ISIS, in addition, killed Mirza Baker’s father-in-law. First they drove a car over his legs then they shot him,” Beam told Syria Times e-newspaper, pointing out that some sources announced that as of the end of April, 3.371 Yezidis had been rescued from ISIS terrorists.

According to these sources, ISIS kidnapped 6.284 Yezidis among them 3.467 females.

On March, 5 2019, it was reported that 550.000 Ezidis lived in Iraq prior to August 2014. While 100.000 estimated emigrated out of it since the same year.

ISIS terrorists destroyed 68 religious sites and shrines for Yezidis in Iraq.

Last month, one of my friends told me that one of the Turkish-backed terrorist groups killed a Yazidi lady because of her ethnicity in Afrin city in Syria’s Aleppo province.

She added that the terrorists also kidnapped over 200 Yazidis and demanded ransoms to release them.

“They killed some of them. Before the start of the Turkish regime’s aggression on Syria on January 20-2018 , there were 35.000 Yazidis in 22 villages in Afrin region. Now there are only 1500 Yazidis, most of them are elderly, while the others have been displaced and they are living in camps in Syria and Lebanon,” she said.

A Yazidi young man wrote this poem to express his pain and the pain of his people, and allowed me to share it with you:

It’s about Genocide!

I want to scream and cry for children cried when their mothers were enslaved and raped !

I want to scream and cry for the kids who lost their parents during Genocide.

I want to scream and cry for little Yezidi girls who were kidnapped and enslaved!

I want to scream and cry for the Yezidi mother who IS cooked her kid to eat it!!

I want to scream and cry for the kid who lost his girlfriend who was taken as slave!

I want to scream and cry for the girls who lost their husbands after a week of their marriage!

Basma Qaddour

IDLIB MILITANTS ATTACK TURKISH-RUSSIAN PATROLS AS TURKEY SHIFTS FOCUS TO NORTHERN IRAQ

South Front

17.06.2020 

On June 16, a joint convoy of the Turkish Army and the Russian Military Police became the target of a new IED attack during a patrol along the M4 highway in southern Idlib. The explosion damaged a BTR-82A armored personnel carrier of the Russian Military Police, but led to no casualties. The incident happened near the village of al-Qiyasat, about half way down the patrol route covering the area between Tarnbah and Furaykah.

Idlib militants and their radical supporters regularly stage provocations aimed at sabotaging the implementation of the Turkish-Russian de-escalation agreement on southern Idlib. These provocations, including IED attacks, have already led to casualties among Turkish military personnel. Despite this, Ankara continues to protect Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other terrorist groups claiming that they are a kind of “moderate opposition”. This behaviour encourages militant groups to go for more aggressive actions.

However, as practice demonstrates, when these attacks lead to real casualties or equipment losses, Russia, contrary to Turkey, is not prepared to tolerate the situation and will resume full-scale operations against these groups even in the face of “moderate opposition” mantras from Ankara.

Turkish-backed militant groups announced that they had conducted an operation against cells of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which had been involved in 11 bombing attacks in the Turkish-occupied Syrian region of Afrin. As of June 17, at least 7 supposed YPG members had been detained. Turkish-backed groups lay the blame for any terrorist attacks or explosions that happen there on the YPG. Whereas the YPG and affiliated groups regularly announce attacks on Turkish proxies in the Afrin area, they have never claimed responsibility for any bombing in civilian areas.

On the evening of June 16, Turkey launched an active phase of its Operation Claw-Tiger in Iraq’s Haftanin region. According to the Turkish military, the Turkish Armed Forces’ artillery hit at least 150 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets, while commandos supported by attack helicopters conducted raids on the ground.

The Operation Claw-Tiger covers the Iraqi areas of Sinjar, Qandil, Karacak, Zap, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk and is aimed at neutralizing PKK bases, weapon depots and training camps. Turkish forces regularly conduct anti-PKK operations in northern Iraq, but they have still not been able to fully neutralize the armed group there.

At the same time, pro-Turkish sources are speculating that Ankara will soon resume military action in northeastern Syria against the YPG, which it considers a PKK affiliate. Right now, Turkish-backed forces are building up their presence near Ayn Issa. The formal pretext for this military effort will be the unwillingness of Kurdish fighters to withdraw from the 30km deep border area as it was agreed in the framework of the US-Russia-Turkey de-escalation agreement on the region.

Military Situation In Syria On June 18, 2020 (Map Update)

A brief overview of the recent developments in Syria:

• A booby-trap explosion was reported at the Nassib checkpoint on the Syrian-Jordanian border;
• Large reinforcements of the Turkish military and its Syrian proxies were deployed north of Ayn Issa;
• An incident occurred between the Russian Military Police and SDF/locals/US-led coalition at Deir Ghusun;
• The US imposed new sanctions under the Caesar Act against Syria and its allies;
• The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detained two ISIS members south of Shaddadi;
• Turkish-backed forces shelled positions of the SDF west of Tal Abyadh;
• Turkish-backed forces shelled positions of the Syrian Army west of Aleppo;
• The Syrian Army sent reinforcements to southern Idlib amid increased SyAF and RuAF activity;
• Large reinforcements of the Turkish military and its Syrian proxies were deployed of Ain Issa;
• An anti-government demonstration was held in Tafas, Daraa province, as a part of previous demonstrations.

Related News

• Russian military breaks through US blockade in northeast Syria: video
• Syrian Army sends large number of reinforcements to Raqqa after Turkish-backed attack
• Fifteen Syrian Service Members Killed, Injured In New Eastern Hama Attack
• Russian Forces Break Through U.S. Block In Northeast Syria (Videos)
• Idlib Al-Qaeda Promotes Its ‘Successes’ In Fight Against Syrian Army
• Russian Tor Surface-To-Air Missile Systems Shot Down 45 Drones In Syria
• Al-Qaeda Factions Create New Coalition In Idlib

• Military Situation In Syria On June 17, 2020 (Map Update)
• Military Situation In Yemen On June 16, 2020 (Map Update)

Turkey Lied to Us

Source

03 May 2020 10:54  

The Investigative Journal has recently published a well-documented report about Turkey’s dirty role played in Syria and Libya. 

 “I just got back from Libya yesterday,” said Zein Ahmad*, a Turkish-backed so called Syrian National Army (SNA) militant in Afrin. “But I had been trying to leave for more than a month.” When the Libyan National Army (LNA) neared Tripoli in April 2019.

Turkish forces began heavily recruiting militants and terrorists  from its affiliated to terrorist groups and began flying hundreds to Libya every week. The exact number of terrorists Turkey has sent is unknown, but estimates range from 5,000 to 17,000.

Ahmad is a member of Ahrar al-Sharqiya,  and had been based in Afrin with the faction since Turkey’s Operation “Olive Branch” in 2018. The Turkish invasion of Afrin led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the displacement of hundreds of thousands. Ahrar al-Sharqiya perpetrated widespread war crimes in the city, including looting, murder, kidnapping, and serial rape.

When asked if he believed in Turkey’s mission in Afrin, Ahmad laughed. “I was a mercenary going to Afrin, and I was a mercenary going to Libya.

The militants in Libya were promised salaries ranging from $2000-3000 per month, but reports assert that they received nothing. One member said he’s been paid $2000 every month and a half rather than every month. Some Faylaq al-Majd members who have been in Libya for more than three months say they were paid once and never again.

“They told us we would be paid $3000 a month. That never happened. The first month we got $2000. The second month, they gave us $1400. The third month, we weren’t paid at all,” Ahmad said. “So we looted. We took copper from the homes, anything gold we could find, anything valuable we could find. And the Libyans with us would take the items and sell them for us.”

After arriving in Libya, Ahmad stayed in a house in Tripoli with ten other Syrian militants and a Libyan militant who accompanied them whenever they left the house. The house was a well-appointed villa, almost certainly abandoned by its rightful owners when clashes intensified and drew closer.

 “It was nothing like we are used to in Syria,” Ahmad said. “It’s urban street combat. We don’t have the right weapons or the right skills. We are being slaughtered. And so, many of us started to refuse to fight. Or we’d be taken to the frontlines and hide there.”

Ahmad says that when the militants began defying orders, Libyan soldiers would come and beat them. He says once, when a Syrian had refused to fight three times in a row, a Libyan militiant shot him in the leg.

The number of the terrorists brought from Syria to Libya by Turkey desperate to leave Libya is growing by the day. “The last lie that Turkey told us was that we would only have to stay for two months, or three months,” Ahmad said. “But more than three months had passed for my group, and they weren’t letting us back.”

Ultimately, Ahmad was forced to pay his commander $700 to fly home to Syria. “There were around 100 of us,” he said. “Some paid $500, and some as much as $1000, but then they put us on a plane with the dead and injured and allowed us to return to Syria.”

Dr. Mohamad Abdo Al-Ibrahim

alibrahim56@hotmail.com

• Turkish regime’s mercenaries attack 4 Syrian villages by artillery fire

HARD TIMES FOR U.S. FORCES IN NORTHEAST SYRIA. ARMY PREPARES FOR IDLIB ESCALATION

South Front

The Syrian Army and local self-defense forces have carried out an operation against ISIS cells hiding in the desert area on the administrative border of Raqqah and Deir Ezzor provinces. According to pro-government sources, Syrian forces eliminated up to 10 ISIS members and destroyed their hideouts.

The security operation came in response to the recently increased IED attacks and ambushes conducted by ISIS cells near Deir Ezzor city and the town of Mayadin. At least 5 Syrian service members and 8 civilians were killed during the past 2 weeks alone.

The Afrin Liberation Forces, affiliated with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, conducted a new series of attacks on Turkish proxies in the region of Afrin. The attacks took place in Kafr Hashir and on the road between Chima and Deir Survan. A vehicle was destroyed and several Turkish proxies were killed.

Sources affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other Turkish-backed militant groups are accusing the Syrian Army of violating the ceasefire regime in southern Idlib. According to them, over the past few days government forces have repeatedly shelled their positions near Jisr al-Shughur, Sarmin and al-Barah. They also claimed that over the same few days Russian aircraft have increased reconnaissance flights over this area.

Pro-government sources say that these strikes were retaliatory actions to ceasefire violations by militants. However, it should be noted that the Syrian military is not hiding that it is actively deploying reinforcements and rearming troops on the frontline in southern Idlib. All the sides of the conflict understand that the current status quo in the area cannot last long. Al-Qaeda-linked militants and other radicals remain a constant source of terrorist threat in Greater Idlib and nearby areas.

On April 7, Syrian troops and patriotic activists blocked a US military convoy near the city of al-Qamishly in northeastern Syria and forced it to turn back to its permanent positions. This became the third such incident in the area in the last two weeks.

Since the very first moment of the deployment of the Syrian Army and the Russian Military Police in Syria’s northeast, US forces have been trying to limit their movement by blocking Russian and Syrian convoys. They apparently forgot that two can play at this game. So, now US troops prefer to stay put in their bases and conduct their own ‘patrols’ in a very limited area only.

The situation reached such an extent that the US-led coalition was forced to airdrop supplies to its forces deployed in the Omar oil fields area on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. Another problem is the terrorist threat from ISIS. For a long time, the US coalition and its proxies were turning a blind eye to actions of ISIS cells along the Euphrates because this allowed them to justify the seizure of the oil fields with the need of protecting them from ISIS. As might be expected, this allowed ISIS cells to strengthen their presence in the area and now they regularly conduct attacks on US-backed forces and intimidate locals.

Related News

• Under The Eyes Of U.S. Forces, Russian Reinforcements Arrive In Al-Qamishli Airport (Videos)
• Russian warplanes return skies of Idlib after militants disrupt military patrol
• OPCW accuses Syrian military of using chemical weapons in Hama
• Turkish military expands presence in northeastern Syria
• Militants confront Russian military in Idlib, force them to turn around: video

SYRIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN TURKISH STRIKES IN IDLIB. KURDISH REBELS ATTACK TURKISH PROXIES IN AFRIN

South Front

The Afrin Liberation Forces carried out a series of attacks on Turkish-backed militants in northern Aleppo. According to the group, its fighters stormed positions of Turkish proxies near Omra killing three of them on March 26. On April 1, the group’s members blew up a vehicle of a field commander, Abu Khalid. The commander and his three bodyguards were killed, while the fourth one was injured. On the same day, Kurdish rebels detonated an IED at a headquarters of Turkish-backed forces in the al-Mahmudiyah neighborhood of Afrin city. The attack resulted in material losses only.

The Afrin Liberation Forces is a brand used by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) to distance themselves from regular attacks on the Turkish Army and Turkish-backed groups in northern Syria. They launch their attacks from the YPG-controlled area near the city of Aleppo and have a network of cells within the Turkish-occupied region of Afrin.

Turkish convoys with building blocks and engineering equipment were entering Syria through the Kafr Lusin border crossing on April 1 and April 2. Later, the equipment and building blocks then were delivered to the militant-held part of the M4 highway in southern Idlib. The Turkish military is reportedly planning to use them to set up a group of fortified checkpoints along the highway in order to solidify its presence there. In March, Turkish forces in the area became a target of two IED attacks by radical militants, and Ankara reasonably expects that such attacks could continue in April.

On April 2, two Syrian soldiers were killed and five others were injured in a Turkish artillery strike on a Syrian Army checkpoint near the town of Tell Tamr in the province of al-Hasakah. In 2019, the army established a number of positions in northeastern Syria following a breakthrough agreement with local Kurdish militias. Then, joint Syrian-Russian efforts allowed to limit the Turkish military operation against Kurdish forces and prevent a larger escalation. Nonetheless, sporadic firefights and artillery duels regularly erupt on the contact line between the Turkish Army and its proxies on the one hand and the  Syrian Army and Kurdish militias on the other hand.

Meanwhile, the US-led coalition reinforced its military base in the oil-rich area of Rmelan. The US base is located near one of the country’s largest oil fields. It can produce up to 90,000 barrels a day. Earlier, the US military deployed additional equipment and troops to its positions in the area of al-Shaddadi in southern al-Hasakah.

According to the Pentagon, about 500 US troops remain deployed in the oil-rich areas in the provinces of Deir Ezzor and al-Haskah. However, the scale of military activity in the region indicate that the real number of personnel involved is likely higher.

KURDISH MILITIAS START NEW DANGEROUS GAME IN NORTHERN SYRIA

South Front

An armed group named the Islamic Revenge Movement (IRM), hostile towards both Turkish forces and the Syrian Army announced its existence in northern Syria. In a video message released on March 20, the IRM claimed that in 2019 its members conducted 118 attacks killing 13 Turkish officers, 187 Turkish-backed militants and 24 pro-government fighters. The IRM also vowed to continue its fight against the “tyrant state” of Turkey and the “Assad regime” in 2020. The claims of the IRM are very questionable, as the group provided no evidence with which to confirm them.

Furthermore, pro-Kurdish sources were first to release the IRM video arguing that the group consisted of former al-Qaeda members. They also released the name of the supposed group leader:  “Abu Osama al-Shami.” Syrian opposition and pro-al-Qaeda sources called the group fake. According to them, the video is just a coverup for actions by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Both groups prefer to distance themselves from acts of direct aggression against the Syrian military and the Turkish Army in northern Syria. In the public sphere, the YPG plays a victim oppressed by the bloody Assad regime and Erdogan the Invader. In reality, it already has a special brand created to distance the group from attacks on Turkish troops and proxies in Afrin – the Afrin Liberation Forces. The Turkish-rooted PKK pretends that it has no bases and fighters in the region despite the fact that a large part of YPG commanders and members is linked with the PKK.

Iran reportedly increased its military presence in southern Damascus. According to pro-opposition sources, the Shiite-majority area of Set Zaynab was turned into a stronghold of pro-Iranian forces. Syrian government sources deny these reports.

On the evening of March 26, Israel shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of Hezbollah, which allegedly violated “Israeli airspace”. The photo released by the Israeli military allows to identify the UAV as a modified variant of the commercially-available Skywalker X8. Armed groups across the entire Middle East modify such drones for combat purposes installing on them submunitions as well as use such UAVs for reconnaissance.

In Iraq, the United States withdrew its forces from the al-Qayyarah Air Base and handed it over to the Iraqi military. A spokesman for the US-led coalition, Col. Myles B. Caggins III, said hundreds of coalition troops will “temporarily” evacuate the base as a protective measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. About 800 troops of the U.S.-led coalition were deployed at the airbase, which hosted approximately $1,7 million dollars worth of coalition equipment. The al-Qayyarah Air Base became the 2nd important military facility abandoned by US forces in March. The withdrawal of US troops from the previous one – al-Qaim – took place last week. These developments are being carried out under the pretext of the COVID-19 outbreak and the defeat of ISIS, but local sources link them with the increasing number of attacks on US forces across the country that the Pentagon cannot contain successfully without a large-scale military escalation.

Related News

• Russia, Syria Accuse U.S. Of Abusing COVID-19 Threat To Arm Militants In Al-Rukban Camp
• Syrian Army, Iranian-backed Forces Send Fresh Reinforcements To Greater Idlib
• Turkey Deploys Hawk Air Defense System In Syria’s Greater Idlib (Video)
• Military Situation In Syria On March 28, 2020 (Map Update)

ISIS Threat Revives In Eastern Syria. Idlib Militants Kill Each Other Over Security Zone Deal Contradictions

South Front

ISIS cells are once again active in eastern Syria. Late on March 17, the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces epelled an ISIS attack in the area between the town of al-Sukhna and the T3 station. The attack involved over two dozen ISIS members supported by at least 6 vehicles equipped with heavy weapons. Pro-opposition sources claim that at least 20 Syrian soldiers were killed in the clashes. Pro-government sources deny casualties and say that terrorists were forced to retreat after they had been targeted by artillery and mortar fire.

The ISIS presence in the desert area of eastern Syria had been slowly decreasing over the past year. Additionally, government forces carried out several security operations cracking down on the remaining ISIS cells in southeastern Deir Ezzor and eastern Homs. However, the terrorist threat was not removed. Syria and Russia say that ISIS members use the US-controlled zone of al-Tanf as a safe haven to hide from Syrian Army operations.

Five civilians were reportedly killed and 15 others injured in a rocket strike on the city of Afrin on March 18. Pro-Turkish sources say that the rockets were launched by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) or affiliated rebels. The YPG created the brand of the Afrin Liberation Forces in December 2018 in order to distance themselves from regular attacks on the Turkish-controlled part of northwestern Syria. In this way, the YPG, which is the core of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, was seeking to distance itself from operations against Turkish forces. The goal was to continue receiving military and financial support from the United States, while simultaneously using the same resources to carry out attacks on the formal ally of the US under another brandname.

Alaa al-Omar, a commander of one of the largest units in the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham Movement, was assassinated near Jisr al-Shughur in the southwestern part of Greater Idlib. Al-Omar was among commanders of Turkish proxy groups involved in sabotaging joint Russian-Turkish patrols along the M4 highway. Pro-government sources claim that his assassination is a result of the contradiction between al-Omar’s unit and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party, which controls Jisr al-Shughur. According to this theory, al-Omar was not active enough in organizing protests against the safe zone deal.

Regardless of the contradictions among the Idlib armed groups, the M4 highway remains closed and the Turkish-Russian agreement on the safe zone in the area is not being implemented.

Combat Footage: Kurdish Forces Strom Turkish Position In Southern Afrin (18+)

South Front

On March 15, the Afrin Liberation Forces (ALF) released a video of a recent attack by its cells on a position of Turkish-backed militants in the southern part of occupied Afrin in northern Aleppo

The video shows the Kurdish group’s fighters storming the position, which is located in the town of Berade in the district of Sherawa. The fighters can be seen shooting and killing many Turkish-backed militants from a close range after infiltrating the position.

See Video Here

The attack is an example of the ALF’s excellent guerilla warfare tactics. It also reveals the poor training and low morale of Turkey’s proxies in northern Syria, which appear to be incapable of repelling even a small-scale attack.

The ALF is launching most of its attacks from a region in southern Afrin jointly controlled by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG). Both sides appear to be supporting the group. However, the extent of their support is still unclear.

The last few months witnessed a surge in ALF attacks on Turkish forces in northern Aleppo. However, the Turkish military and its proxies are yet to take any serious measures to confront the growing threat of the Kurdish group.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

• IED Attacks Killed Militants, Turkish Soldiers In Northeast Syria: SOHR
• Turkish military pelted with stones in Idlib

US Special Forces Deployed with Al Qaeda in Idlib in False Flag Attack on Turkish Forces (updated)

Source

By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor -March 8, 2020

Communications intercepts and intelligence from inside Turkish backed terror groups tell an interesting story.  Americans are there, for the past 2 days, loads of cash, promises of US passports and families resettled in the US.

US forces are to set up ambushes and suicide bombings against Turkish outposts in Idlib in order to bring about an end to the truce negotiated in Moscow between Erdogan and Trump on March 5.

Whether video will be shot using captured Syrian uniforms may be possible.  It is also rumored that Turkish officers, some under CIA/Gulen control, may take part as well.

Some sources say the same Americans had come down from Afrin during the failed chemical attack five days ago scheduled to coincide with US envoy Jim Jeffries illegal visit with terrorist forces.  Jeffries and his party entered Idlib through Syria, meeting with Al Qaeda and White Helmet representatives while, nearby, a number of militants, including members of the White Helmets, were severely injured when chemical weapons they were planning to deploy leaked.

White Helmet and Reuters film crews were on station to provide dramatic video of a US envoy carrying dead children, a disaster when it failed to materialize and the opportunity was lost.

With a collapsed American economy and the US reeling from accusations of an attempted coup against Saudi Arabia, there was little chance that a few children murdered for Facebook was going to make an election year difference for Trump and his administration now reeling in failure after failure.

BIOGRAPHYGordon Duff, Senior EditorSenior Editor , VTGordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. He is a disabled veteran and has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades. Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.

Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.

Gordon’s Archives – 2008-2014gpduf@aol.com

ما بعد حلب: قواعد اشتباك جديدة ومسرح عمليّات مختلف

العميد د. أمين محمد حطيط

بعد أن فاز أردوغان بـ “ورقة يانصيب” تمثلت باتفاق سوتشي حول إدلب السورية، استعملها بذهنية أنها تشرّع له السيطرة على منطقة تتجاوز مع منطقة عفرين التي كان قد احتلها ومع منطقة شمالي حلب غربي الفرات، مساحة الـ 14 الف كلم2 من مساحة سورية البالغة 185 الف كلم2، وإذا ضمّت إليها ما احتله في الأشهر الأخيرة من العام المنصرم وأسماه “منطقة آمنة” لامست الـ 4500 كلم2، إذا جُمع كلّ ذلك يكون أردوغان عبر الاحتيال والإرهاب والعدوان امتلك السيطرة على 1/10 من سورية ما يتيح له ادّعاء الفوز بتعويض كافٍ له للقول بأنه انتصر في سورية وامتلك مفتاحاً فاعلاً للتدخل في شؤونها عوّض له شيئاً من خسارته لمشاريعه الأولى الرامية الى السيطرة على 6 دول عربية عبر الاخوان المسلمين او السيطرة على سورية وبعض العراق.

أقنع أردوغان نفسه بأن بوتين سيكون مطواعاً لرغباته مستجيباً لطلباته، لأنه ظنّ بأنّ الروسي بحاجة إليه لكونه عضواً في الحلف الأطلسي ويحكم دولة ذات موقع استراتيجي مميّز بشكل عام وذات خصوصية مفرطة بالنسبة لروسيا، كما أنّ تركيا تملك من الإمكانات والقدرات ما يجعلها قادرة على التأثير في اقتصاديات دول الجوار اللصيق والبعيد، وروسيا منها، ثم جاء التساهل الروسي مع عدوانيّات أردوغان ليعزّز اعتقاد الأخير.

أما سورية التي قبلت باتفاق سوتشي وفقاً لفهم ساعدها الروسي على تظهيره، فإنها تعاملت معه على أساس أنه جسر لتحرير إدلب على مراحل قد تتطلّب وقتاً طويلاً نسبياً لكنه مسار تحرير محدود الكلفة مضمون النتائج، كما وعد الروسي، ومع هذا ولأنّ المؤمن لا يُلدغ من الجحر مرتين ولأنّ سورية لدغت من الجحر التركي وذاقت منها الأمرّين من خلال غدره وانقلابه على اتفاقات سابقة، فإنها تعاطت مع الأمر وفقاً لعنوانين سياسي وعسكري: الأول ثقة بالتعهّد الروسي، ولذلك أوقفت العمل العسكري الذي كانت تستعدّ له في أيلول 2018 والثاني بالمحافظة على الجهوزية لإطلاق هذا العمل عندما تتهيّأ ظروفه الميدانية والسياسية والاستراتيجية بعد تعثر الأول واعتمدت له استراتيجية الوثبات المدروسة والتحرير بالقضم المتتابع.

لقد رفعت تركيا لوحة تفاهم سوتشي كشعار، ولكنها عملت بمقتضيات مشروعها الخاص حصرياً، ولم تنفذ من اتفاق سوتشي حرفاً واحداً لمصلحة سورية، لكن سورية التي كما قلنا لم تثق لحظة بأردوغان، كانت تستغلّ كلّ عدوان إرهابي تدعمه تركيا، او كلّ خرق مباشر لتفاهم سوتشي ومناطق خفض التصعيد وتنفذ ردة فعل عليه تتمثل بوثبة تحرير مدروسة، وبهذا نفّذت وثبات مورك ثم خان شيخون ثم معرة النعمان ثم سراقب. وكانت مع كلّ وثبة تُحدث تغييراً ميدانياً له أحياناً أبعاد استراتيجية وتأثيرات سياسية، لكن الأخطر والأهمّ والأعمق تغييراً كان في ما أحدثته العمليات الأخيرة التي صحّت تسميتها بـ “عملية الأمن لحلب وطرقها“ فما هي نتائج هذه العمليات وما هي مفاعيلها؟

لقد حققت عملية “الأمن لحلب وطرقها “والتي نفّذت رداً على جرائم الإرهابيين ومحاولتهم اقتحام مواقع سورية محررة في غربي حلب وريفها وريف إدلب، إنجازات عسكرية هامة في طليعتها تحرير ما كان تبقى بيد الإرهابيين من أحياء حلب الغربية وأكمل بذلك تحرير حلب التي أنجز معظمه في العام 2016، ثم وسعت نطاق الأمن المباشر لحلب بشعاع يتراوح بين 12 و15 كلم، أيّ إبعاد صواريخ الإرهابيين عن المدينة وتأمينها أمنياً بالكامل، ولا تقلّ أهمية ما تحقق على صعيد المواصلات من والى حلب حيث تمّ فتح المطار الدولي وفتح طريق حلب دمشق الدولي السريع بعد 9 سنوات إقفال. وبهذه الإنجازات تكون قد حرّرت وطهّرت من الإرهاب مساحة 3000 كلم2.

لقد أذهلت نتائج “عملية الأمن لحلب” واستئناف العمل وتشغيل المواصلات الجوية والبرية اليها، أميركا التي فهمت المعنى الحقيقي للإنجاز المتحقق بربط عاصمة سورية الاقتصادية (حلب) بالعاصمة السياسية ( دمشق) وتفعيل شرايين الاتصال والانتقال بين أهمّ مراكز الثقل النوعي الاستراتيجي السوري، فالذي يفهم المدلول ويحلّل الصورة يعلم انّ سورية بهذا العمل تدفن نهائياً مشاريع العدوان التي استهدفتها، وتجمع أوراق المناورة في مواجهة الحرب الاقتصادية التي تشنّ عليها، أما أردوغان الذي اختلّ توازنه لا بل دخل متخبّطاً في حالة انعدام الوزن والهذيان راح يطلق التهديدات التي يعلم هو قبل غيره أنه ليس قادراً على تنفيذها، ولكنه أصرّ على ممارسة العمل باستراتيجية الضفادع والتهويل عبر إدخال 10.000 عسكري من الجيش التركي وإنذار سورية بوجوب العودة الى خطوط ما قبل العملية، فجاءت مواقف الرئيس الأسد الهادئة لفظاً والمدوّية مضموناً لتوجّه إليه صفعة قوية خاصة عندما تعهّد الرئيس بمواصلة العمليات لسحق الإرهاب وتحرير الأرض دونما مبالاة بالفقاعات الصوتية الآتية من الشمال (ويقصد مواقف أردوغان تلك) واتبعتها قيادة الجيش ببيان إغلاق الأجواء السورية ضدّ أيّ طيران معادٍ.

لقد رسمت عملية “الأمن لحلب وطرقها” مسرحاً ميدانياً فرض فيه الجيش السوري وحلفاؤه قواعد عمل واشتباك جديدة، رافقتها سلوكيات أطلسية لا يمكن تجاوزها، حيث انّ أردوغان وبعد ان لمس فشل ما لجأ اليه من تهويل تركي ضدّ سورية لجأ الى الأطلسي وهدّد به ـ وهنا كان الردّ الصادم لأردوغان حيث لم يستجب هذا الحلف لشيء من طلبات حاكم تركيا لا بل وجه اليه صفعة مؤلمة عندما استبعده عن مناورات آذار المقبل التي سيشارك فيها 41 ألف عسكري أطلسي ليس فيهم تركي واحد.

أما أميركا التي كانت ولا زالت تستعمل أردوغان أداة مشاغلة ليطيل أمد الصراع في سورية ويؤخر استحقاق تحرير شرقي الفرات من الـ 800 عسكري أميركي المعلن عن وجودهم هناك، فإنها اكتفت بتصريح وقح تستنكر فيه قيام سورية بفتح وتشغيل مطار حلب وطريق حلب السريع الـ M5.

هذه السلوكيات أكدت بأنّ حلفاء أردوغان المفترضين تركوه يتخبّط ولن يغيّر هذا الاستنتاج ما يُقال عن لقاء تركي فرنسي ألماني روسي للبحث في مسألة إدلب، التي بات أردوغان مستميتاً لتجميد الوضع فيها على ما هو عليه الآن خاصة أنه يخشى من استئناف العمليات السورية لتحرير تلك المدينة التي لا تبعد عن المواقع الأمامية للجيش العربي السوري الآن أكثر من 14 كلم.

وأخيراً… مع استبعادنا أيّ مواجهة عسكرية روسية – تركية، أو مواجهة سورية – أطلسية، والاعتقاد بأنّ المواجهة السورية – التركية تبقى منخفضة الاحتمال جداً لن تقع إلا إذا ارتكب أردوغان فعلاً جنونياً كاملاً، فإننا نرى انّ الميدان السوري بات محكوماً بقواعد عمل واشتباك جديدة تؤلم تركيا كالتالي:

1 ـ جهوزية الجيش السوري وحلفائه لمعالجة أيّ عائق يعترض تنفيذ مهماته حتى ولو كان هذا العائق جيشاً تركياً، وعلى أردوغان أن يستوعب جيداً ما جرى لجنوده الذين قتلوا بنار سورية عندما حاول الإرهابيون الاحتماء بهم، أو ما حصل لقواعده النارية التي قدّمت الدعم للإرهابيين في هجومهم على النيرب، وأخيراً البيان الصريح الذي أعلنت فيه القيادة السورية أنها تغلق أجواءها بوجه كلّ عدو وأنها ستستعمل كلّ الوسائل المتاحة من أجل ذلك (وطبعاً يدخل ضمنها صواريخ “أس300” التي بات أمر تشغيلها بيد سورية).

2 ـ إنّ روسيا ليست بصدد إعطاء مهل إضافية لتركيا وإنها ملتزمة بدعم الجيش العربي السوري في مهماته لتحرير إدلب، ولن يكون أمام أردوغان فرص جديدة او مناورة احتيال أخرى. فروسيا نفد صبرها وهي تقرّ مطلقاً بحق الجيش السوري في تنفيذ تلك المهمات وله أن يتابع وفقاً لما يراه وعلى الآخرين احترام وحدة الأرض والسيادة السورية.

3 ـ عدم واقعية او جدية او جهوزية الحلف الأطلسي لدعم تركيا في مشروعها الخاص في إدلب وجلّ ما يمكن تقديمه هو دعم لفظي لا أكثر. وقد طويت صفحة مسرحيات الكيماوي التي كان الأطلسي يلعبها لتبرير التدخل العدواني المباشر ضدّ الجيش العربي السوري.

4 ـ انكشاف محدودية قوة تركيا في مساندة الإرهابيين واستعمالهم خدمة لمشروعها الخاص الذي بات نجاحه شبه مستحيل، وستكون لهذا الانكشاف ارتدادات خطيرة على معنويات الإرهابيّين الذين كانوا يتصرّفون بطمأنينة مطلقة الى قوة تركيا الداعمة لهم ولمسوا الآن، بل تأكدوا انّ الجيش السوري لا يعبأ ولا يهتمّ بما تدّعيه تركيا من هيبة عسكرية او ما تضعه من خطوط حمر، وكانت عملية النيرب التي سحقهم فيها الجيش العربي السوري نموذجاً.

*أستاذ جامعي وخبير استراتيجي.

SYRIAN WAR REPORT – JANUARY 18-21, 2020: DOZENS ARMY TROOPS KILLED, INJURED IN IDLIB CLASHES

46 Syrian service members have been killed and 77 were wounded in recent clashes with radical militants in Greater Idlib in the period from January 16 to January 19, the Russian Reconciliation Center reported. According to the report, 57 civilians were killed and 116 others were injured as a result of attacks and shelling by militants.

On January 19, the Syrian Army repelled a large attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and its allies on the town of Abu Dafn. According to pro-government sources, the army lost several armoured vehicles. The Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL), a key ally of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, militants damaged a battle tank and an infantry fighting vehicle, and destroyed an artillery piece belonging to the army. The NFL also claimed that dozens army troops were killed and injured. Earlier, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham recaptured the areas of Tell Khatrah, Mustayf Hill and Abu Jurayf from government forces and foiled army attempts to take them back.

Aleppo city came under a series of artillery and rocket strikes by militant groups operating in its southwestern countryside. Russia’s Hmeimim airbase also came under an attack by militants’ armed drones. All drones were intervened. The behavior of Idlib militants is a visual confirmation of forecasts saying that a new round of military escalation in the so-called de-escalation zone is almost inevitable.

On January 18, a car bomb exploded near a convoy of U.S. forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the road heading to the Conoco gas facility, according to the North Press Agency. The incident happened in the village of Jadid Akkidat. No casualties were reported.

On January 13, 15, 17 and 18, the so-called Afrin Liberation Forces (ALF) conducted a series of attacks on positions of the Turkish Army and Turkish-backed militant groups in northern Aleppo. According to the ALF, 9 militants were killed and 2 Turkish soldiers were injured in these attacks. The inability of Turkish-led forces to secure their positions in northern Syria from attacks by Kurdish rebels demonstrates that the support of local population to the Turkish intervention is a bit lower than Ankara claims.

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