Syria in 2016 (April-June)

[OUTLAW 09]

Despite regime & alQaeda attacks, residents of Maarat a-Numan have been protesting against both for 56 days straight

Syria: anti-#JN protest in Maarat al-Numan, people sing protest songs against Jolani
https://youtu.be/BXRou9VcN10

Michael Weiss ‏@michaeldweiss · Apr 28
Recall Soleimani was reported to have traveled to Moscow again, what, two weeks ago? Likely prepping Aleppo battle during "ceasefire".

Russian military base in Palmyra filmed by Andrey Borodulin/AFP. First sighting of Pantsir AA system at Palmyra

[OUTLAW 09]

Reports saying that pro-Regime forces retake Ma'aratah village near KhanTuman, and trying to retake AbuRuwayl village & Tal Mistawi. #Aleppo

Syria #Aleppo Nusra & Jund al-Aqsa claim repelled counter assault of "#Iran'ian forces" on #Khan_Thoman (->Humeira) today

Iran DepFM Amirabdollahian condemned occupation of #KhanTouman of #Syria by terrorists & the opposition.

Iranian media says Nusra-led attack on Khan Touman breached #Syria ceasefire.

No mention #Iran negotiated Nusra's exclusion from ceasefire

[OUTLAW 09]

First_gathering #SouthernFornt attacked at 7am #LShY #ISIS positions in #ayn_dakar & #Saham_jolan Dam
#Daraa

SAA soldier's base salary: SYP 18,000/month, equal to 30 bucks. Increasingly a rational choice to seek job with militias, tycoons, warlords.

To shore up salaries, Assad decreed a major SYP 10,000 hike for soldiers on frontline duty in June 2015. Then, it meant $34—now down to $17.

NDF pays much more, Suqur al Sahara even more I guess. It's not a bug, it's a feature. It serves regime and #Iran.


Damascus has called back several figures in #Qamishli and handed their posts to their deputies in order to de-escalate situation with #PYD

[OUTLAW 09]

Jaish Tahrir, Nasr & Izza fired roughly 50 Grad rockets in #Hama prov. last 24hrs vs Military Airport & #Jourin area

Regime/Russia answer 2 Rebels gains has become a classic: dropping incendiary bombs over lost positions #Khan_Touman

Reportage from @HadiAlabdallah inside Khan Tuman showing dead militias/spoils, S. #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPrlqksXSkQ …

Map showing recent Rebels gains in W. & S. #Aleppo after 2 offensives.
HD: http://i.imgur.com/JSuXw0i.png

Rare footage of aftermath of #TOW strike vs infantry: 2 #ISIS casualties in N. #Aleppo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXVvecSiGG4 …

[OUTLAW 09]

After Rebels zeized strategic Al Eis (1st April), capture of Khan Tuman reversing last major gain of pro-Regime foreign militias (20th Dec).

Rebels have proven best way 2 defeat pro-Regime forces is fighting by uniting own forces & opening several fronts. "Regime" is less flexible

Lastly, fact that pro-Regime forces taken by surprise & defeated in #Aleppo (despite bulk of Iranian-led militias) is big issue for Regime.

[CrowBat]

Rebels have proven best way 2 defeat pro-Regime forces is fighting by uniting own forces & opening several fronts. "Regime" is less flexible

Not really. It is rather so that Oblabla has managed to convince mainstream/moderate insurgents, that the best way of fighting this war is to join Jihadists of the JAN: the latter are receiving supplies undisturbed, all the time.

Compare this with Oblabla's practice of all the time curbing the flow of supplies to insurgents....

Thanks to him - and his cooperation with Putler - within a month or so it's really going to become 'impossible' to distinguish mainstream/moderates from the JAN...

Anyway, the operation in southern Aleppo is run by the JAF (Jaysh al-Fateh), which is reconstituted, that's right: but now officially consisting only of the JAN's and Jund al-Aqsa's Jihadists, and the Ahrar ash-Sham - i.e. Wahhabists and Salafists, respectivelly.

The recently reinforced Faylaq ash-Sham - which is meanwhile also 'rather Islamist than mainstream' - might be participating too, at least in supportive function (primarily with its artillery).

BTW, below a very interesting reconstruction of how the JAF isolated the Liwa Fatimioun in Khan Touman and then destroyed a large part of this IRGC formation. After bushwacking Liwa Fatimioun in this style, on 5 May, the JAF went and bushwacked the newly-arrived Liwa Mazandaran (IRGC regulars from the 25th Kerbala Division IRGC) in al-Hmerah (NE from Khan Touman), yesterday, too.

If correct, it's an indication of the JAF's HQ learning a lot - from the IRGC. Namely, that's the way the IRGC used to operate against Iraqi Army, back in the mid- and late 1980s, or against the JAN and Daesh in Syria of late 2013. It only seems that IRGC's new arrivals are simply not of the same sort like it's original cadre of 'advisors' in Syria: meanwhile they're better at 'playing incompetent Assadists'.

[OUTLAW 09]

Russian Syrian Express is running out of cargo ships it appears.....

Video of FLOT's Kashtan Class large buoy tender on Bosphorus. Today, 08:15 local time.
https://youtu.be/D3jWAvqNsVc

Spetsnaz, sailors & civilians were aboard #ВМФ Kashtan class KIL158 (large buoy tender) during its Mediterranean-bound Bosphorus transit

Starboard side boat's almost definitely a Raptor tho I'm not convinced with compared dimensions vs Kaan15

Local Turkish media was claiming they were tanks.....

Interesting though to see Spetsnaz and these vehicles on a buoy tender not their normal cargo carriers....