Having previously overrun all the Turkish-backed rebel forces in Idlib Province, al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate is now urging those same rebels to help them out, as they have gotten into growing fights with the Syrian military and are losing.
The al-Qaeda group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) had
been pushing south from Idlib into government territory in Homs,
ignoring the Russo-Turkish “buffer zone.” The Syrian military has
similarly ignored the buffer zone in retaliatory attacks.
Since the Turkish rebels were chased into Aleppo Province by al-Qaeda,
the al-Qaeda forces are now suggesting that they might force the Syrian
military away from Idlib by attacking the city of Aleppo.
It’s not clear why the Turkish rebels would feel inclined to do al-Qaeda
any favors after al-Qaeda took almost all their territory. At the same
time, Turkey is giving lip-service to the notion that Syria is violating
the buffer zones, even though the buffer zone was never intended to
include al-Qaeda in the first place. It may suggest Turkey at least
wants to give the appearance they might endorse a rebel offensive.
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