Syria regime to deploy near Al-Bab in veiled threat to Turkey

The Syrian army signalled today that it would press on with operations against Daesh northeast of Aleppo, in a veiled warning to Turkey which backs a separate military campaign to fight the militants in northern Syria.

Forces loyal to the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad have rapidly driven Daesh back in the last two weeks, advancing to within six kilometres of the town of Al-Bab that the militants are fighting to hold against a Turkish-backed operation including Syrian opposition faction, the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The regime’s army’s gains risk sparking a confrontation with Turkey, which has sent tanks and warplanes across the border to support Syrian opposition factions who are fighting Daesh, also in an attempt to seize Al-Bab.

Ankara’s offensive, launched last year, aims to drive both Daesh and militant Kurdish leftist fighters away from its borders, as Turkey sees both groups as a security threat connected to acts of terrorism in Turkey itself.

The Assad regime’s military general command said regime forces and their Iran-backed Shia jihadist allies had recaptured more than 30 towns and villages from Daesh, and a 16 kilometre stretch of the highway that links Aleppo to Al-Bab to the northeast.

“This achievement widens the secured areas around Aleppo city and is the starting point for operations against Daesh,” a military spokesman said in a statement broadcast on state TV.

The military “confirms its commitment to…protecting civilians and maintaining the unity of the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the statement added, in a remark apparently directed at Turkey.

Turkey’s offensive has brought the opposition factions it backs – some of which have also fought against Al-Assad’s forces in Aleppo – to the outskirts of Al-Bab, after having seized areas close to the Turkish border such as Jarablus.

Ankara last week denied that Turkey would hand over Al-Bab to the Assad regime after driving out Daesh fighters.

Citing a source in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar Al-Assad, Reuters reported yesterday that the Syrian army aimed to reach Al-Bab and was ready “to clash with the FSA fighting” alongside the Turkish army if necessary.

Turkey launched its “Euphrates Shield” campaign in Syria to secure its frontier from Daesh and halt the advance of the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has conducted terror attacks in Turkey since the 1980s.

Helping the Syrian opposition to topple Al-Assad is no longer seen as a priority for Ankara, and it is instead focused on securing its southern border with Syria to prevent it being used as a strategic backdoor for Daesh militants and PKK-linked Kurdish extremists.

The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, although the US does not recognise its sister organisation, the YPG, as being the same.

The Euphrates Shield campaign has carved out an effective buffer zone controlled by Turkey-backed opposition groups, obstructing the YPG’s plans of linking up Kurdish controlled areas in northeastern and northwestern Syria. The YPG, backed by the United States, is separately also battling Daesh, and Washington’s backing for the Kurdish fighters has created tension with Turkey.