Claimed image of a Russian mercenary with pro-Assad forces in northern Hama Province
Rebels claim that Russia has put special forces into a stalled Russian-regime offensive in northwest Syria.
Russian military advisors have been directing operations in the May 6 offensive, but this would be the first time that Moscow has put troops on the battlefield.
“These special Russian forces are now present in the battlefield. The Russians are intervening directly now,” said Capt. Naji Mustafa, spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front rebel coalition.
The NLF said Russian troops were involved in the battle last week to retake the hilltop Humaimat village in northwest Hama Province last week. Rebels raided it and seized heavy weapons and ammunition, inflicting significant casualties on Assad units, and the regime’s military failed in several attempts to reoccupy the territory.
“When al-Assad’s forces failed to advance, Russia then intervened directly…after bombing the area with more than 200 sorties,” Mustafa said.
The head of the rebel faction Jaish al-Izza, Jamil al-Saleh, echoed, “The Syrian army found itself in a crisis and were forced to ask for Russian troops on the battlefield.”
See also Syria Daily, July 10: Anti-Assad Forces Counter-Attack in Northwest
“Russia Has Been Exposed to Defeat”
The Russian-regime offensive, shattering a demilitarized zone around northern Hama and Idlib Province declared last September by Moscow and Turkey, initially took several towns and villages in northwest Hama. However, even intense Russian airstrikes could not prevent the stalling of the assault, and rebels and the Islamist bloc Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham recaptured some of the territory last month.
Mustafa asserted, “Russia did not only fail but has been exposed to defeat.”
Jaish al-Izza’s Saleh added, “In light of the size of artillery and aerial bombing, the Russians and the regime had expected to seize large areas.”
Russian State media did not comment on the rebel claims, first reported by Reuters.
The pro-Assad blog Al Masdar, a channel for declarations from the regime’s military, announces this morning that Assad forces have “begun the second phase of their northwestern Syria offensive after taking a month-long hiatus between mid-June and mid-July”.
The blog says the assault is led by the 4th Armored Division and the Tiger Forces militia, but makes no mention of Russian ground involvement.
Syriac Christians call on US Army to stop possible Turkish invasion in northeast Syria
The US-backed Christian Syriac Military Council (MFS) on Wednesday warned of a possible Turkish attack on the eastern Euphrates in Syria and called on the United States to intervene. The MFS fears the onslaught could affect thousands of Christians who live in Syria’s northeast. The military council has defended Syriac Christians against the threat of the so-called Islamic State as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Syriacs are one of the world’s oldest Christian communities. Many of them fled to Europe due to Islamic State attacks. Now, they fear Turkey could launch an incursion into the east of the Euphrates, which would again displace thousands of Christians who live in villages and towns on the Syrian-Turkish border. The Turkish army recently started to remove a wall between Turkey and northern Syria and amassed forces near Tal Abyad.
https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/158099de-fb53-4dd6-adee-96857342884a 7/17/2019
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“These sudden moves come after news of the expansion of Saudi Arabia and the UAE movements in areas controlled by the Kurdish units east of the Euphrates River, and provide more financial and military support as this move comes in conjunction with the expectations of the approval of some European countries on Washington’s request to send ground troops to northern Syria to replace US forces following the decision of US President Donald Trump to reduce the number of troops there.”
https://hawarnews.com/en///haber/escalation-in-syria-after-diplomatic-rounds-huge-reinforcements-of-turkish-army-east-of-euphrates-h10225.html 7/13/2019
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Libya has also become a key battleground in a regional struggle between backers and opponents of Islamists including the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Turkey’s ruling AKP is affiliated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan […] told reporters on June 20 that Turkish backing had allowed Tripoli to “rebalance” the fight against Haftar, who has the backing of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
https://news.yahoo.com/six-turks-held-libya-forces-linked-strongman-haftar-182200290.html 6/30/2019
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‘Baghdadi now hiding in Libya: ex-Iraqi minister’ aml.ink/TVlwo https://t.co/gyjBOYE8AL
https://twitter.com/mutludc/status/1151149087661670400 7/16/2019