The further the world comes into 2021, the more it begins to resemble 2014, at least in Syria, mixed in with a bit of 2015. ISIS is returning, the US is bracing to “fight it”. The “moderate opposition” is living its renaissance fighting against the Syrian Government and its Russian support.
The 2015 bit is the fact that Russia is present, and its activity has greatly increased in the first weeks of February.
In the ten days leading up to February 14th, Russia reportedly carried out more than 700 airstrikes on ISIS cells in Central Syria. This is an impressive number, but the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights claimed that as a result only 33 ISIS terrorists had been killed. According to the same report, the Syrian Arab Army had more significant losses – 56, but it is being targeted by almost every “moderate” and “radical” party on the battlefield.
The attempts to rebrand Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham as a “reformed group” that’s no longer affiliated with al-Qaeda also continues. The US has chosen its future ally.
In a clear disagreement, on February 13th, Russia targeted a secret HTS headquarters in Idlib and completely devastated it. It also continues to attempt and enforce the ceasefire agreement in Idlib, tracking every violation and punishing it. The agreement is largely ineffective due to Turkey’s non-implementation.
Moscow is not only on the giving end, but also on the receiving one.
On February 14th, an Orlan-10 drone was reportedly downed by militants over Greater Idlib. In Manbij, near the Turkish-occupied region of Afrin, the Turkish-backed “moderate opposition” opened fire on Russia’s military police. Russia was forced to deploy more troops and equipment to the region.
On February 13th, the Russian military sent a new batch of equipment and vehicles to its base at the Qamishli Airport.
In the area of speculation, Russian opposition media reported that Russia was extending the runway at the Hmeimim Air Base, to be able to host strategic long-range aircraft. It is a potential preparation for future chaos. Or an attempt to show parity with the United States’ continued flights of B-52 bombers over the Middle East in recent months.
The United States is not keeping still, while Russia is operating. In a rare event, it eliminated an ISIS commander in a drone strike. It also vacated one of its many positions in northeastern Syria.
This is only significant in the view that it likely will reposition, and support some of its new allies. The biggest players have began their movements in expectation of the coming storm.
https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/us-forces-reportedly-building-new-base-northeast-syria
Any truth?
Voice of America… Any truth?
Hahaha
Very funny
As shown in this article, a late 2020 interview with the U.S. Special Representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, clearly outlines Washington’s agenda in Syria:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-truth-about-washingtons-involvement.html
Apparently, in James Jeffrey’s world, its okay to punish a nation and its beleaguered civilian population for the better part of a decade and hide information from the Commander-in-Chief and the American public just because Washington wanted to see an end to Bashar al-Assad who is still the democratically elected President of Syria.
I am not certain (and I have read every word I could find about and more importantly by ISIS) that the group we rev exists except as a marketing brand. It seems to have been created as a comic strip villain in a particularly infantile Hollywood studio. But whether it actually exists or not, “fighting ISIS” requires ISIS to (re)appear, which in turn requires it to be given arms and weapons and money as well as jihadis fresh out of the Quisling Kurd prisons.
As such, as I say in my comic strip*, it should give Bidet a Valentine, as should al Qaeda. And because they didn’t, I had to do it on their behalf.
* https://ragheadthefiendlyterrorist.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/valentines-day-2/
The grandiosely named ‘Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ is not a reliable source of info on Syria. It is, in reality, a one man band, an anti-Assad Syrian expat, working from home, in the provincial town of Coventry, UK. This pro-Western propaganda outfit is routinely quoted as a source of authoritative news on Syria by the Brit bourgeois media as if it were some kind of of neutral, disinterested NGO. It is nothing of the kind.
ftmntf
What you wrote is precisely what I intended to write. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights is indeed made up of one man, a Syrian living in London, England. There is no way his reports can either be accurate or honest. He is constantly being used for anti-Assad propaganda.
The one man Syrian Observatory of Human Rights is quite generously financed by the British taxpayer.
https://www.medialens.org/2018/the-syrian-observatory-funded-by-the-foreign-office/
He lives in Coventry I believe. Above a clothes shop that he owns.
But on a clear day he can see all the way to Syria from his window apparently.
Which is handy because he hasn’t actually been back to Syria in over twenty years.
True. I wonder why Southfront.org quote that guy. It’s a well known MI6/CIA/NATO propaganda outreach. It has nothing to do with reality but creating certain narratives and infowar.
Yes and that it’s mentioned here disqualifies this strange article
“700 airstrikes on ISIS cells in Central Syria. This is an impressive number, but the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights claimed that as a result only 33 ISIS terrorists had been killed”
Why so inefficient? & if the number is false, then what are the Russian figures for ISIS/terrorists killed?
Turkey had made clear its deeply seated anti-Russia stance when it defiantly profaned again the Temple of Christ the Logos/Wisdom. It is hard not to see it as the ‘abomination of desolation’ standing in the holy place.
America is going to try and bleed Russia using its proxies. Bidens policy is not about ‘winning’ its about making Russia suffer, whilst never putting US troops in the front line. I hope Russia is going to charge a high price in return, enough to make the US think twice. Bidens plan will be to do this everywhere, Ukraine, internal RF society, Belarus, Georgia … anywhere Russia can be distracted and spread thin as a result. Hopefully each attempt will be crushed in return, time to stop be so deferent to a weak America.
Just stop it!
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is just one man -an anti-Assad propaganda front western government funded dress shop owner in Coventry, UK.
What next on here? Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat fame speaking the ‘shocking truth’ on MH17 and the Skripals?
https://journal-neo.org/2015/12/12/the-syrian-observatory-for-human-rights-is-a-tool-of-western-propaganda/
https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-syrian-observatory-for-human-rights-is-a-propaganda-front-funded-by-the-eu-its-objective-is-to-justify-pro-democracy-terrorism/5331072
https://caucus99percent.com/content/syria-war-propaganda-and-syrian-observatory-human-rights
Enough!
Yes South Front and the Saker must not allow this kind of BS articles on this platform
It discredits this exceptional and very important alternative media source
There are less and less of them available and if there will be more of this BS articles it will loose the value
Please make a quality check before putting this kind of content up
Who is the writer of this anyway?
Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, is an MI6 oulet like belincrap, zero credibility.
Just few bombs and Reagan pulled out his troops very fast from Lebanon. What are the Russians hesitating? They too should build their proxy army targeting Americans.
This sentence is pure sarcasm and deeply ironical by the actual facts outlined.
“In the ten days leading up to February 14th, Russia reportedly carried out more than 700 airstrikes on ISIS cells in Central Syria. This is an impressive number, but the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights claimed that as a result only 33 ISIS terrorists had been killed.”
Yes, South Front knows who the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights is. Do you not see the irony?
I am glad to hear that SF knows this and has not been infiltrated. I read this several times trying to detect sarcasm and failed -this must be the driest sarcasm I have seen.
Had the SOHR report of “only 33” even been qualified by an exaggeration adjective like “miraculously” or even “amazingly”, or the rest of the article had an overall sarcastic tone, I’d have caught on.
The only other line that didn’t quite make sense was “The United States is not keeping still, while Russia is operating. In a rare event, it eliminated an ISIS commander in a drone strike.”
Is this also sarcasm? Did this actually happen, an ISIS commander thrown under the bus for not toeing the US line? Or was it by accident/mistake/collateral damage perhaps -or even totally fake news for domestic consumption?
IMO SF needs to clarify its reports to prevent misunderstanding.
It’s SF’s daily take on a long running Monty Python skit…..nudge nudge, ‘rare event’, wink wink, ‘only one’……..I see dead parrots, ‘say no more, say no more’.
Cheers, M
700 airstrikes and only 33 casualties. I’ve found it essential to understand Russian humor in order to understand their media. LOL