Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 18 sepTember 2018
Last stand: Syria's rebel Idlib prepares for a losing battle

By SARAH EL DEEB complicated by the pres-
Associated Press ence of radical fighters.
BEIRUT (AP) — They dug By backing the National
trenches around towns, Front, it argued it can
reinforced caves for cov- draw fighters away from
er and put up sand bags the al-Qaida-linked HTS,
around their positions. They the dominant power in the
issued calls to arms, urging province, forcing it to dis-
young men to join in the solve and creating a new
defense of Idlib, the Syrian opposition force ready to
province where opposition negotiate with the Syrian
fighters expect to make government.
their last stand against Rus- The strategy has had lim-
sian- and Iranian-backed ited success.
government troops they The National Front in recent
have fought for years. months gained control of
This time, it's "surrender or territory in Idlib from HTS,
die." which still controls nearly
As the decisive stand for 70 percent of the province.
their last stronghold looms, HTS began to show signs of
this motley crew of tens of splits and two weeks ago,
thousands of opposition Turkey declared it a terrorist
fighters, including some In this Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018 file photo, fighters with the Free Syrian army eat in a cave where they group.
of the world's most radical live, in the outskirts of the northern town of Jisr al-Shughur, Syria, west of the city of Idlib. But with the onset of a mili-
groups, is looking for ways Associated Press tary offensive, HTS has set
to salvage whatever is pos- up joint operation rooms
sible of an armed rebellion Russia to accept its propos- Idlib are at least 10,000 rad- "In the mind of the rebellion, with different National Front
that at one point in the sev- als for a solution on Idlib icals affiliated with the al- the hope is that from Turk- factions.
en-year conflict controlled that avoids an attack. Qaida-linked group, Hayat ish support they can have Making a rare video ap-
more than half of the coun- On Monday, Turkish Presi- Tahrir al-Sham (Arabic for ... a republic of northern pearance in late August,
try. dent Recep Tayyip Erdo- Levant Liberation Commit- Syria, protected by Turkey HTS leader Abu Moham-
In its last chapter, just as it gan met for the second tee). The group denies it is like Northern Cyprus," said med al-Golani — wear-
has throughout the long, time in 10 days with Russia's linked to al-Qaida. Thou- Fabrice Balanche, a Syria ing an olive-green military
bloody war, the Syrian re- Vladimir Putin, this time in sands of foreign fighters, watcher at the Washing- uniform — vowed to fight
bellion's fate lies in foreign Sochi, Russia. from China, Europe and ton Institute for Near East Assad's forces and said
hands. This time, the splin- "After proving its influence the Middle East, are the Policy. Turkish observation points
tered and diverse rebels in Syria and the Middle backbone of the radical These Turkey-administered were no protection.
have only Turkey. East, Russia wants to pull groups. areas are likely to be the The HTS spokesman in Idlib
"The whole world gave up Turkey away from the West The Turkish reinforcements destination of the dis- said now was not the time
on us, but Turkey will not," much more than achieve are going to 12 observation placed and rebels of Idlib to talk about dissolving
said Capt. Naji al-Mustafa, a military victory over the points that Ankara set up in case of an offensive. into Turkish-backed reb-
spokesman for the Turkish- armed Syrian opposition," around Idlib last year under An Idlib offensive holds el groups. He underlined
backed umbrella group Mustafa Ellabbad, an ex- a deal with Russia and Iran multiple threats for Turkey that an arrangement must
known as the National pert on Turkish-Arab rela- creating a "de-escalation right on its border — a hu- eventually be made for
Front for Liberation. tions, wrote in Kuwait's al- zone." The deal also effec- manitarian crisis, a security the foreign fighters in the
Idlib, with its 3 million resi- Qabas newspaper. tively stopped an earlier nightmare with thousands group.
dents and more than The province, the size of government advance and of gunmen loose and a de- "Right now, no sound is
60,000 fighters, is Turkey's Lebanon, has been the set Turkey up as Idlib's pro- feat to its plans for the safe louder than that of the
burden to bear. beating heart of the rebel- tector. zone. If Syrian forces retake battle," Imad Eddin Muja-
Ankara has appealed to lion for years. In rebel hands Separately, Turkey has Idlib with no agreement on hed said. "We have many
Russia and Iran, its uneasy since 2015, it is the largest troops stationed in the the fate of the opposition military surprises; enough
negotiating partners, for a contiguous territory they enclave under its control fighters, they could threat- to upset the balance and
diplomatic resolution to the controlled. It has access north and east of Idlib, en the Turkey-controlled ward off aggressors."
ticking bomb. At the same to Turkish borders, securing where it backs Syrian op- enclave, and Ankara In rallies around Idlib the
time, it has sent reinforce- supply lines for weapons, position fighters and a ci- would lose credibility with last two weeks, protesters
ments of its troops ringing fighters and aid. vilian administration. It is the fighters and leverage took to the streets to deny
Idlib, a move designed to For the past two years, Idlib part of its plan to create a with Damascus on any fu- that the province is a hot-
ward off a ground assault, saw an influx of an esti- safe area along the border ture deal. bed of extremists. Thou-
at least for now. mated 20,000 rebel fighters where some of the more "There is really no way for sands raised only the flag
A wide offensive is only likely from around the country than 3 million Syrian refu- the Syrian military and Da- of the Syrian revolution, a
after a green light from Rus- after their losses to govern- gees it hosts may return. mascus' allies to launch a reminder that there was
sia. But delicate diplomatic ment troops and surrender Ankara initially sent in its military offensive on Idlib once a popular uprising
moves are at work. Mos- deals negotiated with Rus- troops more than two years that doesn't have deeply against Assad, and Idlib is
cow is keen on strength- sia and Damascus follow- ago to push out the Islam- negative, injurious effects now its last bastion.
ening ties with Turkey, at a ing devastating sieges. ic State group and Syrian on Turkey. There is no real Some raised banners read-
time when Ankara's rela- Civilians who refused to Kurdish fighters. For Ankara, way they can cushion this ing: "The rebels are our
tions are at their lowest with go back under govern- the increasingly assertive, for Turkey," said Sam Heller, hope and the Turks are our
the United States. Turkey, ment rule were also bussed U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds a Syria expert in the Brus- brothers."
by calling on the United there, nearly doubling the were an existential threat sels-based International Syrian forces and Iranian-
States and Europe for sup- province's population. that encourages the aspi- Crisis Group. backed militias are likely to
port, seems to be playing Among the estimated rations of its own Kurdish in- Turkey's strategy in the op- avoid a clash with the Turk-
on that interest to pressure 60,000 opposition fighters in surgents. position areas has been ish troops. q