Click to see the full-size image
Some two weeks after the surprising fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the war-torn country remains unstable with clashes and violations being reported.
In northeastern Syria, heavy clashes between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue despite United States efforts to de-escalate and broker a settlement.
On December 20, the Turkish military and SNA shelled Qarqozaq Bridge to the south of the town of Kobani, a stronghold of the SDF, in the eastern Aleppo countryside. A Turkish drone strike also killed two Kurdish journalists, Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin, to the south of the town.
Also in the eastern Aleppo countryside, five fighters of the SNA were killed while attempting to infiltrate SDF defenses near the town of Deir Hafer.
Heavy clashes between the SNA and the SDF were also reported in the northern Raqqa countryside, mainly to the east of the key town of Ain Issa and in the nearby towns of Sakiro, Umm Baramil and Hawija. Casualties were reported on both sides.
Meanwhile in southern Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continues to expand its control, especially in the western countryside of Daraa.
As of December 21, Israeli troops were still collecting weapons from the Yarmouk Valley. The IDF also announced that it had arrested two people during operations in the buffer zone near the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, many locals living close to the zone reported that the military was preventing them from reaching their farms.
The Turkish-Kurdish conflict in the northeast and the Israeli invasion in the south are not the only problems facing the country’s new government, which is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
In the al-Qalamoun mountain chain close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, heavy clashes broke out late on December 20. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the clashes were between supporters of the former regime and opponents of it. The clashes came to an end after the intervention of government forces led by HTS.
Clashes between smugglers were also reported on December 20 in the Aakkar Valley, between the central governorate of Homs and the western governorate of Tartus.
The clashes took place near smuggling routes at the border with Lebanon close to the towns of Talkalakh and Khirbet al-Akrad. One was killed and at least four others were wounded in the clashes.
In addition to these clashes, incidents, provocations and revenge acts continue to be reported from Homs to the coast as well as in the northwestern governorate of Hams. The new government has been making efforts to put an end to these acts. The locals have been also protesting especially in Tartus and the nearby governorate of Latakia.
Overall, the situation in Syria is still far from being stable. If efforts to restore security and build an inclusive government failed, the country may face an even deadlier civil war from the east to the coast.
pray for syria
another nato success, i hope the sna and the snf kill each other.
2 dogs fight for a bone, the third will run with the oil🤫
the allies kicked russia’s azz out of syria…heheheh
jews preventing goyim from entering their farms……what a shock. (note the sarcasm?)