A civil war has been raging in Syria for almost nine years. The followers of ruler Bashar al-Assad are getting more and more headwaters. This increases tensions with Turkey.
Damascus (dpa) - Syria's government troops have continued their advance to the last major rebel stronghold and once again achieved an important strategic success.
President Bashar al-Assad's supporters conquered parts of the M5 expressway near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. This brought the central Syrian traffic axis back under control - for the first time in around eight years. The route connects the capital Damascus and Aleppo, the two most important cities in Syria. It is considered one of the main supply arteries in the civil war country.
Parts of the M5 have so far been part of the last large region around the city of Idlib in northwest Syria, which is still held by Islamist rebels. However, their territory is getting smaller. The government troops had already reported large gains in the battle for the Idlib region in the past few days. This is dominated by the militia Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is close to the terrorist network Al Qaeda. The past few months have shown that the rebels are no longer able to recapture lost territory.
Syria's government forces are superior after almost nine years of civil war, mainly because Russia and Iran support them. The Syrian and Russian air forces regularly bomb the rebel area. At least twelve civilians died in attacks by Assad's air force on Idlib on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. A Syrian helicopter was shot down east of the city.
With the advance of the government, tensions with Turkey have also increased, supporting the rebels and building military observation posts in the region. According to Ankara, five Turkish soldiers had already been killed by Syrian shelling on Monday. The Turkish military then declared that it had "disabled" more than a hundred Syrian military personnel. Among other things, this can mean killed or wounded.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened new retaliation on Tuesday. The Syrian government has been "seriously shown", he said in Ankara. "But that's not enough. It will go on like this because the more they attack our soldiers, the higher the price they pay."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed his sympathy to the families of the Turkish soldiers killed. At the same time, he called for an end to the "attacks by the Assad regime and Russia" in his Twitter message. In order to coordinate appropriate reactions to this "destabilizing attack", he had ordered diplomat James Jeffrey to Ankara. This arrived there in the evening. Pompeo emphasized that the United States supports NATO partner Turkey.
There is a lot at stake for Erdogan in Idlib. Around three million civilians live in the rebel area there, more than half of them refugees. According to the UN, the government advance has displaced nearly 700,000 people since December alone.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic, as helpers report. There is a lack of accommodation, food and medical care. The winter cold and wet make the situation worse. If Assad's followers move forward, hundreds of thousands of desperate people could try to cross the closed border with Turkey. The neighboring country has already taken in more than 3.6 Syrians, and Erdogan is under domestic pressure because of the refugees.
Turkey cannot do much in Idlib, though, according to military expert Metin Gürcan, there are now around 9,000 Turkish soldiers deployed there. But Russia controls the airspace. Ankara repeatedly appeals to Moscow to influence the Syrian government - so far without success. Assad's military leadership was also unimpressed on Tuesday. The Turkish attacks would not prevent the Syrian army from continuing its military operations in Idlib, she said.
Assad appears determined to implement his announcement and bring all of Syria back under control. His followers now rule over two thirds of Syria. He shows no interest in negotiations. Despite numerous diplomatic initiatives, all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict have so far been unsuccessful. Most recently, a committee with representatives of the government and opposition had started work in Geneva at the end of October with the aim of drafting a new constitution. But Assad shows no inclination to compromise.
However, despite the recent military successes, the ruler and his supporters are far from being able to take control of all of Syria again. Large areas in the north and east of the civil war country are still held by the Kurdish militia YPG, which is allied with the United States. Last but not least, the Kurds' territory includes the country's most important oil wells, which Assad urgently needs to alleviate the country's economic crisis.
