With much of the surrounding territory lost, Turkey has evacuated seven military posts inside northern Syria, more than half of the 12 posts they’d set up in 2018. That does not mean a reduced military presence, however.
Generally, Turkey has moved troops to the remaining posts, or to bases held by rebel allies elsewhere in the region. The Turkish troop levels are roughly flat across Idlib and Aleppo.
At the start of this, Idlib was rebel-dominated, with huge amount of rebel factions packed in as they lost various other territories around Syria. Turkey negotiated a ceasefire, and put troops there to try to defend the rebels.
But the Turkey-backed rebels got in fights with al-Qaeda, who weren’t part of the ceasefire, and after losing ground to them, the al-Qaeda turned around and lost it to the government. This left the government with a lot of the former rebel territory, and Turkey with posts that no longer made sense to try to keep.
amerikan turkeys and proxies gradually being eradicated from Syria
If that’s the case, it sounds like America is truly winning in Syria.
Syria costs the US money and lives. The US gains nothing from being there. If the US focused on profit, we’d bring all our troops home.
Erdogan is leaving because Putin made him leave. Russian troops are now embedded with the Syrian Fifth Corps. They are preparing to fight Israel and the US if it comes to that.
Turkey doesn’t want terrorist attacks against Turkey, from the Kurds. It wanted to expand into Syria, but mostly it just wants to stop the Kurdish threat to Turkey.
Exactly.
And Syrian Government likewise is profiting from it, as the last thing Damascus needs is Kurdish “autonomy” under US protection leading up to statehood. While being sympathetic to Kurdish people, and generally testy towards Turkey, it is understandable. Kurds need a champion, not to look to US to save them. Turkey has also removed thousands of militants under its control and relocated them under Turkish commend to many places where Turkey needs Arabic speaking soldiers. Bases in Iraq, Qatar, Libya, Syria. Syrian forces, Turkish and Russian forces have been working closely on number of fronts. At Manbij, along the border, in Afrin and permanently around Al-Bab.
In Idlib, a ring is tightening around HTS, or Al-Qaeda. Militants remaining with HTS are finding themselves isolated.
The news is, White Helmets are being evacuated to Jordan, then to Germany — to hide their final destination. Since White Helmets were the funding and supply source of HTS, it is clear that their position is weakening.
I hope it is not too much to ask — to notice how Syrian Government, Russia, and Turkey have been collaborating over years. The public animosity is aimed at the specific public, in order to get their confidence and compliance. It is now becoming clearer.
Everything except US air controlled Deir Azzor, where presumably ISIS is hiding in “the desert”.
I hope you’re right. Do you think Iran is pursuing nukes?
Don’t be ludicrous parroting the military establishment. The only real threat is the Turkish threat to Kurds.
Which doesn’t mean that the Kurdish leadership in Syria knows its fingers from its elbow; it stupidly threw in with the US and will suffer the consequences. Not a good reason, though, to justify the Turkish aggression to Syria and its Kurdish population.