Syria Armed Forces Melt Away: NATO Turkey, Sanctions, and Islamists
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The armed forces of Syria and various allies have melted away in Damascus and Hama. It remains to be seen if Homs will follow the current debacle at the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other Sunni Islamist forces – some backed by NATO Turkey.
In the past, the armed forces of Syria stood their ground when possible and often held out against great odds against several Sunni Islamic forces backed by various Gulf powers, NATO Turkey, and Western intrigues emanating in the corridors of power in Washington, London, and Paris during the height of the conflict. However, in recent times, the main culprit is NATO Turkey concerning military arms and economic angles related to Islamists in the province of Idlib and in Turkish-controlled areas of Syria.
Accordingly, Iran and the Russian Federation naively tolerated NATO Turkey to involve itself internally in parts of northern Syria to the detriment of Syria. Hence, similar to the cleansing of Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan (with tacit support from Turkey), the Russian Federation is being outsmarted by Turkey. Therefore, the government of Syria was left in a vulnerable situation concerning the failures of the Russian Federation and Iran (both nations naively sought to solve the crisis with Turkey).
The combined forces of Western economic sanctions against Syria, Islamists gaining strength in Idlib concerning the intrigues of NATO Turkey and military arms, and the convulsions of Israel dismantling the elites of Hezbollah in Lebanon – and other factors – are witnessing a weakened Syria.
Also, Iran and the Russian Federation are distracted by military issues. Hence, NATO Turkey and Sunni Islamists noticing the weakening of Hezbollah by Israel – and Iranian intrigues being bombed in Syria – are utilizing the situation in Syria to spread their power.
UN News reported (2023), “The representative of the Russian Federation warned that the illegal foreign military presence in Syria’s north-east and south, the continued threat of military operations in the north and Israeli attacks against Damascus could lead to renewed terrorist activity. Syrian authorities are trying to do everything they can for the Syrian people, he emphasized.”
HTS Islamists and other forces (some backed by NATO Turkey) quickly took Aleppo last week – and now they have taken Hama. Astonishingly, this was done after very little resistance from the armed forces of Syria (they just melted away and left military equipment behind).
The armed forces of Syria stated it was redeploying its armed forces “to preserve the lives of civilians and not to involve the people of Hama city in these battles.”
However, after the rapid fall of Aleppo and Hama – this will ring hollow to the people of Homs.
The BBC reports, “Turkey backs some of the rebel groups taking part in the offensive, which analysts say almost certainly could not have happened without Ankara’s knowledge and approval.”
Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani (HTS leader- linked in the past with Al-Qaeda and ISIS) said to the people of Homs “Your time has come.”
Alawites and others are fleeing Homs in vast numbers. They understand what ISIS and other Sunni Islamists did to Alawites (butchered and put in cages in Syria), Christians (cleansed and killed), Yazidis (this religious minority was enslaved and butchered by Sunni Islamists in Iraq), and the Shia (the Shia were killed on sectarian grounds) in parts of Iraq. Therefore, the religious minorities (Alawites, Christians, Druze, and the Shia) have much to fear.
The Guardian reports, “The sudden losses appear to have unsettled Assad’s longtime backers in Moscow and Tehran, with Russian forces consumed with their invasion of Ukraine and Iran concerned about its forces being targeted by Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory, which have increased in the last year.”
Turkey, under President Erdogan, is constantly involving itself in foreign conflicts. This includes the utilization of Islamist terrorists (mercenaries) in the conflicts of Libya, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh were cleansed by Azerbaijan with the assistance of Turkey on several fronts). NATO Turkey also attacks the Kurds in Iraq and Syria – often killing Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities.
Syria needs genuine support from its allies and not empty words and actions. If the Russian Federation and Iran don’t provide urgent support to the government of Syria then Homs will follow the recent debacles of Aleppo and Hama.
The intrigues of NATO Turkey, Sunni Islamists, Western sanctions, Iran’s intrigues against Israel (utilizing Hezbollah and Hamas), the Russian Federation being distracted by events in Ukraine, the folly of the Russian Federation and Iran in trusting Turkey, internal corruption issues – and other factors – are collectively combining in the sudden demise of the armed forces of Syria in Aleppo and Hama.
It remains to be seen if the government of Syria will draw a line in the sand – or if capitulation will continue. Events are happening rapidly while the Russian Federation and Iran seem to be viewing their best options before committing themselves to the cause of Syria.
The next few days and weeks appear pivotal.
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