Syrian Army pushing to take over 20km buffer zone in northwest Syria
[AlMasdar] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is pushing to launch a new operation to clear the 20-kilometer-deep demilitarized zone that stretches from northeast Latakia to western Aleppo.
According to a government source in Damascus, the Russian and Iranian delegations in Sochi this Thursday will present the case to their Turkish partners.
The source said that due to the jihadist refusal to leave the buffer zone, the Syrian Arab Army wants to clear the area itself and then allow Russian military personnel to deploy to the DMZ.
He added that while the Syrian Army wants to clear the Idlib Governorate of the militant groups, they are willing to negotiate a settlement in which they would just launch an operation to expel all the militants from the buffer zone.
In the past, Russia and Iran have met much opposition from their Turkish partners over a potential military operation inside the Idlib Governorate.
However, the demilitarized zone agreement has ultimately failed and the hostilities are still a daily occurrence in this area.
The only other scenario that could come about is a joint Turkish-Russian-Iranian operation in which they could all clear the demilitarized zone together.
This scenario would most likely be accepted by Turkey because it would allow them to be active in the operation, while also not including the Syrian government forces.
Jihadist rebels launch new attack on Aleppo city[AlMasdar] The jihadist rebels in southwest Aleppo launched a new attack on the provincial capital, hitting a densely populated district.
According to a military report from Aleppo city, the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham launched a number of missiles into the New Aleppo District on Wednesday evening.
No casualties were reported as a result of the attack.
A source from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) said the attack was unprovoked as their forces had avoided hostilities with the jihadist rebels for much of the week.
US upset over Armenia’s military deployment to Syria
The United States expressed their dismay over Armenia’s recent military deployment to Syria, despite the fact they were invited by the Syrian government.
“We recognize the desire of other nations to respond to the humanitarian situation in Syria, and we share the concerns about protecting religious minorities in the Middle East,” the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.
“However, we do not support any engagement with Syrian military forces, whether that engagement is to provide assistance to civilians or is military in nature,” they added.
“Nor do we support any cooperation between Armenia and Russia for this mission. Russia has partnered with the Assad regime to slaughter civilians and trigger a humanitarian catastrophe. Russia continues to protect the Assad regime and its atrocities on a global stage,” it added in a statement to Armenian media circulated by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.
The Armenian military’s deployment was part of a humanitarian mission that sought to assist the war-torn city of Aleppo.