Recently, the Syrian Army has been regularly reporting of its successful actions both in the Aleppo province, where the troops advance towards the direction of Deir Hafer and in the outskirts of the ancient city of Palmyra. Government forces have simultaneously launched a large-scale offensive on the southern outskirts of Al-Bab, the city which Turkish army together with the Free Syrian Army units have been unsuccessfully trying to capture since last November.
It should be mentioned that Turkish presence in the territory of Syria is illegal and lacks the UN Security Council resolution and official permission from Damascus. Under the pretext of conducting the of Euphrates Shield operation to fight against ISIS, Turkish forces target Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which are considered as a branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party.
At the begging of the operation the Turkish army managed to occupy territories in the northern Syria along the border. Since that moment they have been unsuccessfully trying to capture the terrorist-controlled Al-Bab city for months.
The Turkish troops have succeeded only in reaching the northern outskirts of Al-Bab where they struggle in urban warfare with terrorists who are defending the city.
According to various sources, the number of jihadists remaining in the city and maintaining resistance is between 500-1000 people. Even these modest accomplishments have been achieved only due to the massive Russian and occasional American airstrikes, which have weakened the resistance of terrorists in the outskirts of Al-Bab.
To summarize, the Turkish Command should admit its failure in Al-Bab. It should also reconsider the necessity of its troop’s presence in the territory of a sovereign state, which has not officially appealed for help. Such actions of Turkey can only be characterized as an actual interference in the internal affairs of Syria for the sake of promoting its own interests in the region.
Firas Samuri, Inside Syria Information Center
firas.samuri@aol.com