Russians cancel rebel command in Syria. A sign towards war in the Caucasus?

In an unprecedented show of force, Russian warplanes last week reportedly launched devastating attacks on a Turkish-backed militant stronghold in northern Syria, killing up to 100 fighters. It was a severe blow to Ankara's proxy military assets in the Arab country.

The air strikes marked the end of a seven-month ceasefire.Remember that Russia had negotiated this agreement with Turkey to find a solution to the Syrian-Turkish conflict and planned to maintain a de-escalation zone in the province northwest of Idlib in Syria. The Russian-mediated truce was a slowdown for the Syrian army which could crush the rebels supported by Ankara in a few days, but which had to accept a Turkish protection area in its territory.

This week's attacks were reportedly a joint operation between the Syrian military and their Russian ally. This suggests that Moscow is giving Damascus the green light to resume its offensive to reclaim all of its territory from the Turkish-backed rebels. The gloves are coming off again, apparently.

The target was reportedly the main training ground of the Islamist group Faylaq al Sham, also known as the Sham Legion. Western media refer to the group as "moderate rebels" but it is in league with known terrorist affiliates, such as Ahrar al Sham and Jaysh al Islam. It is also associated with the jihadist propaganda dress, the so-called white helmets.

The Sham Legion is reportedly the centerpiece of the Turkish network of control over the various Islamic militias in the area, a sort of coordinator of a dust of handpieces that now remain more loose and isolated.

The fact that Russia and Syria launch such a pulverizing blitz against an important Turkish asset can only be seen as an emphatic warning to Ankara. Something related to the Middle Eastern sector? NO, since things were going pretty well all in all, but rather a warning about what is happening in the Caucasus.

There is no doubt that Turkey's support for Azerbaijan is fueling the conflict. Ankara's bellicose rhetoric about the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenians has encouraged Azerbaijan to pursue a military solution.

Turkey has armed its long-time ally Azerbaijan with advanced weapons, such as missiles and drones, as well as providing F-16 fighters. There are credible reports that Turkey has transferred thousands of its mercenary assets from northern Syria to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces.

There are also reports that Turkey has deployed over 1,200 of its own special forces in the mountainous region of Karabakh, Turkey's growing support is likely behind you failed truce attempts, organized by both the Russians and the Americans, and jumped almost immediately. . Erdogan's support in Baku is said to have been a revenge for the rescue of Assad in Syria. If this was the plan, it risks becoming a boomerang.

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The article The Russians cancel rebel command in Syria. A sign towards war in the Caucasus? comes from ScenariEconomici.it .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/135560-2/ on Sun, 01 Nov 2020 10:20:57 +0000.