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Moscow Pressures US-backed SDF Near Syria’s Ain Issa

The humanitarian corridor in northwestern Syria’s Saraqib empty of civilians (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The humanitarian corridor in northwestern Syria’s Saraqib empty of civilians (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Moscow Pressures US-backed SDF Near Syria’s Ain Issa

The humanitarian corridor in northwestern Syria’s Saraqib empty of civilians (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The humanitarian corridor in northwestern Syria’s Saraqib empty of civilians (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Russian forces in Syria attempted pressuring the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into giving up control of some areas near the Ain Issa subdistrict, located northeast of the war-torn country.

This coincided with Russian forces also announcing plans for opening a humanitarian corridor between areas controlled by opposition armed factions and regime-held territory in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

A UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported the death of three fighters from the Turkey-backed Suleiman Shah faction and the injury of seven others after SDF fighters fired a heat-seeking missile at frontlines in Al-Musharefah town in Ain Issa.

Turkish forces, for their part, fired several rockets on Houshan and Abu Sorrah villages, located along the M4 Motorway. They also attacked an SDF mechanized digger nearby the silos in the east of Ain Issa.

The Observatory pointed out that Russian troops that abandoned the Ain Issa military base on Sunday had returned on Monday morning.

“Eight Russian armored vehicles were seen arriving in the base where the Russian flag has been raised again,” it reported, adding that it wasn’t clear what was accomplished by the withdrawal.

“No information has been reported about the gains Russians achieved and made them return so fast,” said the Observatory, explaining that Russia frequently extorts the SDF through repeated threats of withdrawal from Ain Issa.

Russians pulling out from the military base ignited anger and discontent among locals who fear of a possible military operation by Turkey.

The Observatory also revealed that Russian forces had pulled out from the main base in Ain Issa in a bid to pressure the SDF to make a deal with the Assad government.

“Russians are attempting to put pressure on the SDF after it rejected demands of the Russians and the Syrian government, including the demand to hand over villages near Ain Issa to Turkey, which would have cut off the road from Ain Issa to Kobani,” said the human rights watchdog.

The SDF also refused to hand over wheat stored in Shirakrak silos to regime forces.

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‘Deterring Aggression’ Operation Escalates Northern Syria Frontline

Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)
Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)
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‘Deterring Aggression’ Operation Escalates Northern Syria Frontline

Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)
Turkish military reinforcements in Aleppo and Idlib (Turkish Media)

At least 57 people, including 31 Syrian soldiers and 26 fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other groups, were killed in clashes after an attack by HTS and its allies on government positions in northern Syria.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred during a military operation, called “Deterring Aggression,” launched by HTS and its allies early Tuesday.

The group said the goal was to “expand safe areas for the return of our people.”

Fighting factions quickly captured more than 17 villages and towns in western Aleppo countryside after intense clashes with government forces, leaving them just 10 kilometers from Aleppo city.

In response, the Syrian government sent reinforcements and launched hundreds of shell and rocket strikes on civilian and military sites in the area.

Syrian and Russian warplanes also carried out 22 airstrikes, some targeting HTS positions in Idlib.

HTS, along with smaller opposition groups, controls about half of Idlib and its surroundings.

This area is designated a de-escalation zone, where a ceasefire has been in place since March 2020 under an agreement between Moscow and Ankara.

However, the region regularly sees sporadic clashes and airstrikes from Damascus and Moscow.

In related news, Türkiye has sent a large military reinforcement to the Euphrates Shield area, controlled by its forces and allied Syrian National Army factions in Aleppo, as well as to its positions in Idlib.

This comes amid rising tensions with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the offensive by HTS on Syrian army positions in Aleppo.

A Turkish military convoy entered the Euphrates Shield area from the Bab al-Salama border crossing in northern Aleppo on Wednesday. The convoy included trucks carrying heavy weapons, tanks, and armored vehicles to a Turkish position near the town of Mariamin, north of Aleppo.

On Tuesday, Turkish reinforcements arrived at Mount Zawiya in southern Idlib, part of the Russian-Turkish de-escalation zone.

The convoy, which entered through the Kafr Lousin border crossing, included around 50 vehicles, mostly artillery and tanks. These forces were stationed at a base near the frontlines with Syrian army-controlled areas.

The reinforcements arrived amid rising tensions along the frontlines with the SDF in Aleppo, military escalation by HTS in the city, and increased Syrian army activity in Idlib.

In one development, the Manbij Military Council, part of the SDF, launched a raid on positions held by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army near the village of Umm Jlood in eastern Aleppo, part of the Euphrates Shield zone.

Clashes also took place near al-Hamran village in western Manbij, and the Syrian National Army shelled the villages of Umm Jlood and Arab Hassan.

Additionally, two fighters from the Turkish-backed Sham Legion were killed, and three others wounded in a raid by the SDF in the Kafr Khashir area north of Aleppo.

The northern Aleppo countryside saw exchanges of shelling between the SDF and Turkish forces on Monday near the Mareh axis and Tuesday near the Harbel axis, with shells landing near a Turkish base in Tel Malid village, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.