Syrian War Report – January 27, 2017: 2,600 Militants Laid Arms In Wadi Barada

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Over 2,600 militants have laid down arms in the Wadi Barada area near Damascus. Those who refused to do this are leaving to the Idlib province with their families. However, some Jabhat Fatah al-Sham units are still hiding in the mountains area. Soon the whole region will be controlled by government forces.

The Syrian army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) have liberated from ISIS the village of Madiuna and the hill of Mashrifah southwest of the ISIS-stronghold of al-Bab in the province of Aleppo. Government forces are now further developing momentum south of Al-Bab.

Meanwhile, Turkish militant groups, backed by the Turkish Armed Forces, retook Amiyah and Seflaniye from ISIS.

Government troops have recaptured from ISIS two hills north of the Tiyas Airbase in the province of Homs. The army continues to expand a buffer zone near the airbase.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon and State Department to develop a plan of creating a series of “safe zones” for refugees fleeing violence in Syria. According to reports, the plan has to be ready within 90 days.

The decision pursues 3 main goals:

  1. To decrease Ankara’s involvement into the cooperation with Russia and Iran, and into the so-called “Astana format”. Turkey has been seeking to set up such zones in Syria for a long time, but it didn’t have support from the US.
  2. To increase a US influence in Syria. Washington is the only power, excluding Russia and Iran, which can guarantee a creation of such zones.
  3. To show a positive involvement into the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The problem is that a closer cooperation with Turkey is almost not possible while Washington supports the Kurdish YPG and its advance on Raqqa. Furthermore, Moscow and Tehran oppose the US idea to set up safe zones in Syria.

In any case, Trump’s administration shows that it’s going to implement an active policy in the Middle East.

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Boris Kazlov

Trump parroting HIllary after all, same warmonger

Hisham Saber

Boris, please watch this video :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcd-yvudYSg

Boris Kazlov

That Trump is a zionist never escaped me, but so was HIllary, between the two it seemed the lesser evil, but he is shwoing that he is indeed a Zionist tool.l

sólyomszem

who was waiting for something else, is incredible naiv :)

John Whitehot

lolz, once again, we will see.

Boris Kazlov

What we are seeing now, with the “safe zones” in Syria is more of the same zionist policy we saw under Obama, only worse.

John Whitehot

Obama and Erdogan wanted safe zones to give jihadists areas where they could be safe from air strikes. If instead they make safe zones for refugees but destroy ragheads trying getting into them I see no particular concerns.

Boris Kazlov

There are already safe zones in Syria, they ae the government -held areas, just look at where the Syrian familied trapped in East Aleppo wanted to go, no wonder the East was depopulated, all Syria needs is to left alone without illegal interference, Trump just wants to make the Empire great again, for the benefit of Israel, how deluded, America’s train left for good.

Bob

Not sure if the US and Turkey can resolve differences on this – for Turkey, safe zones were always a Syrian land grab and euphemism to create fully protected militarized zone for their proxy forces. US Neo-Cons were completely on board with that, but it also clashed with Pentagon’s support for Kurds, whom they in conjunction with Israel have long considered a potential means to disrupt and destabilize Iran. The US has been unable to resolve its contradictory aims so far – creating divisions with Turkey over Kurds – so a new Trump administration that already shows signs of antagonism toward Iran may fair no better. Either way, the US has limited capacity on ground and would have to attack SAA in north Aleppo to roll them back at this point.

Boris Kazlov

Right, many pro Russian bloggers including the saker fell for Trump as avoiding a WW3, Incredibly naive to expect anything else of American entrenched jewish elite.

John Whitehot

you must have missed the current debate on declaring Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Hillary was actually funding them.

southfront

Please, don’t use the comment section for posting mass memes.

Hisham Saber

Okay, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Lynx Fēlēs

Everything seems to go well, militants in Wadi Barada finally surrender… the army steadily advances, militants continue fighting amongst each other…all in all very positive developments!