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In coordination with Free Syrian Army groups, the YPG advanced on Islamic State positions in northern Syria in 2015, capturing key border towns and other locations. In June 2015, the YPG announced that it was within 30 miles of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the “caliphate.”
These advances “enabled our forces to liberate and secure 18,000 square kilometers,” according to the YPG.
USA:n kongresiin tutkimuspalvelun lokakuussa julkaiseman raportin tulokset eivät ole mairittelevia.
The implication of a report written for the US Congress is that the United States is a state sponsor of terrorism in Syria. At the same time, the report challenges widely held beliefs about the conflict, including the idea that the opposition has grass-roots support and that the conflict is a sectarian war between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect and the majority Sunnis.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-rol...arch-service-report-on-syria-conflict/5500547
The town, where members of Assad's Alawite minority sect once co-existed with majority Sunni Muslims, overlooks the largely Alawite coast and is about 12 kilometres away from the Turkish border. Turkey is a key supporter of insurgents in the area, which is mostly inhabited by Syrian Turkmen, an ethnic minority with close ties to Turkey.
"Whoever controls Salma gains control all those surrounding areas which it overlooks," said Zakariya Ahmad, an opposition activist in the nearby Idlib province.
He said the town fell after 93 days of fighting and daily barrel bombs and airstrikes. He said activists in the region had reported 92 airstrikes believed to be Russian on Salma in the last 24 hours before it was fully seized by government troops.
"It was hell on earth," he said.
Salma's capture further improves Assad's position ahead of planned peace talks with the opposition in Geneva scheduled for January 25, and came as high-level U.S., Russian, UN and other diplomats met behind closed doors in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss efforts to those talks.
The recapture of Salma is the latest in a string of military achievements by the government recently, supported by Russian air power and Lebanon's Shiite militant Hezbollah group.
Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics, said Russia was trying to send a powerful message to Turkey following the downing of their plane in November in the area, showing that they can exact revenge.
"Salma is really a major breakthrough, not just for the Syrian army, for Russia as well," he said, adding that losing the town was a significant loss for the opposition.
"The rebels thought they could turn it into a spearhead to deal a mortal blow against the regime" into its Alawite heartland, he added.
Coastal area effectively under army control
Russia began conducting airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30 against ISIS and "other terrorists," but much of the Russian airstrikes have targeted areas where ISIS has no presence.
Jabal al-Akrad, where Wednesday's fighting was focused, is also close to the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, which has frequently been targeted by Russian warplanes since Moscow launched its air campaign. It is controlled by a consortium of mainstream and extremist insurgent groups including the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham and the Nusra Front.
Latakia province includes key strongholds of Assad and the Alawite religious minority.
Sharif Shehadeh, a Syrian member of parliament, said the capture of Salma "effectively brings the entire coastal area under Syrian army control."
He said the combination of Syrian ground troops and Russian air cover was proving extremely effective and predicted "big changes" that would change the battlefield by mid-year.
Tai yrittää hämätä länsimaita, että Assad olisi lähdössä jonnekin.