Syrian government forces made advances in the provinces of Aleppo and Homs and increased pressure on US-backed militants near the area of al-Tanf in southeastern Syria. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are still advancing in order to isolate the ISIS stronghold of Raqqah from the western flank.
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To be continued !
One worrying factor in this map of the Syrian conflict is, although isil is loosing vast amounts of territory.. rebel factions are making substantial gains, I fear this conflict is far from over and with the increasing presence of foreign military forces on the ground and more direct involvement from proxies on all sides, this looks like once the common enemy being isil is defeated in the terms of its power, influence and military capabilities ( Isil will not be completely removed, it’s tactics will become that of what it once was, to carry out lone wolf attacks, kidnapping and suicide bombings, but not capable of any major military advances, or even to make half decent defences or territories) the presence of rebel groups and foreign militaries will be in direct confrontation with the SAA and it’s allies, meaning this conflict could get a lot worse and more serious than it already is. I fear this war is far from over and is in truth about to start, the real war that so many have been hiding behind their proxies all this time may be about to finally explode in to all out carnage. Something needs to be done immediately to resolve this pending crisis.
I wouldn’t worry about the rebel forces in the desert. Only thing that would complicate things further would be if Russia decided to pull out its forces, but I don’t see that happening soon. The rebel forces in the desert are probably only a few hundred strong and they don’t really have a good foothold there, I’d think.
Regarding the Kurds, I think Russia will try to negotiate something. It also helps that Turkey is against an independent Kurdistan. They arguably got more influence around the border than the US does, however the US will obviously try to get its way. I think if the Kurds and the SAA manage to keep a (long standing) truce, the rebel forces in Idlib and Daraa will have no chance to expand any further.
The south of Syria, the entire border region with both Jordan and Iraq, is the expected end-game for Murikan imperialist ambitions in Syria. ISIS will surely get more active as well, helping out their bloodthirsty Zionist brethren and preventing SAA’s advance in the desert, but they are decimated and heavily demotivated and won’t cause much trouble.
Keep in mind that everybody’s focal point at the moment are Dara’a and Al-Suweida provinces, what happens there in the following days will determine the outcome of the war. Godspeed…!
I really believe the key to the entire conflict is based upon a unilateral and solid agreement with the kurdish forced and the Assad government forces with the power play maker being Russia, I don’t believe turkey, u.s or any other player has a genuine interest for the population of syria, Russia has been remarkable and strong in their involvement and the Russian nation I believe has the diversity and understanding amongst it’s population and it’s armed forces to deal with such a diverse (ethnically and cultural) population in syria, I believe if Russia can aid in bringing this conflict to an end of hostility I think Russia will support and insist on a fair general election I also believe the assad government will honor any agreement regarding the stability and safety of the people, whereas turkey and the us coalition is just hell bent on removing Assad at all costs, how they never learned there lessons from removing Saddam of iraq and Gaddafi of libya with out a genuine military and political will regarding the population of said nations.. is beyond me. All forces battling in syria should be told to align themselves with the government and Russia to bring a quick end to the conflict so the nation can focus on rebuilding it’s economy, infrastructure, housing, hospitals, roads etc, and bring some sense of normality back to the amazing people of syria (who did not deserve any of this) then can you focus on the a political change and rebuilding a solid and safe future for a syria together.
Yes, I fully agree with you. I didn’t mean to say that Turkey and the US have any interest in the Syrian people. However, Turkey doesn’t want the Kurds to get more powerful and the US does. This means that Turkey will consider making more important deals with Russia if the US continues to arm the Kurds. If Turkey keeps its jihadists in line, then most of the conflict will already have died down. I think the current de-escalation deal is mostly holding because of a deal with Turkey (and possibly Qatar as well?)
I hope Russia will keep the US out of the debate as much as possible.