US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may have signalled a radical shift in US policy, when he appeared to say at a press conference in Turkey that the issue of Syrian President Assad’s future was one for the Syrian people to decide.
Tillerson’s exact words are reported to have been
I think the … longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people
The Syrian military has fully re-opened the Kuweires air base 30 km east of Aleppo, making it possible for a Russian built IL-76 transport aircraft to land and take off from the base.
In a war where no lack of courage has been shown by the combatants on either side, the successful defence of Kuweiris air base by the Syrian military stands out as an especially heroic episode in the bitter Syrian war.
The Al-Qaeda led offensive in eastern Damascus has been comprehensively repelled by the Syrian army, which has recovered all the ground lost to the Jihadis since they began their offensive on Sunday.
Reports are circulating in the Middle East that over the last few days ISIS has started pulling back some of its fighters from Deir Ezzor to its ‘capital’ Raqqa, which is coming under increasing threat from the Kurdish militia and the advancing Syrian army.
This news comes after reports that a senior Syrian government official has recently visited Deir Ezzor to inspect the defences of the encircled town and presumably to give some encouragement to its population and defenders.
Latest reports from the fighting in eastern Damascus say that the Syrian army has successfully recovered all the strong points captured by the Jihadis in their attack of yesterday.
In particular the Syrian troops have recaptured the ‘Fabric Factory’ – captured by the Jihadis yesterday – which is a lynchpin of Syrian defences in the area.
The following video shows the Syrian army’s counter-attack, including its use of tanks and armoured vehicles
Following their temporary breakthrough yesterday, the Al-Qaeda led Jihadis in eastern Damascus where thrown back, allowing the Syrian government to claim this morning that all positions captured by the Jihadis in Damascus had been recaptured by the Syrian army.
The alternative media community, especially its social media iteration, is experiencing collective psychosis in hallucinating that “Israel” and Russia are on the verge of war with one another.
The prevailing narrative is that Israeli “Defense Minister” Lieberman’s threat to destroy Syria’s air defense systems is tantamount to a declaration of war against Russia, with the assumption being that Moscow is on a crusade against Zionism and has thus become Tel Aviv’s worst enemy.
In contrast to what happened after the capture of Palmyra in March 2016, the Syrian army has been pressing on with its offensive against ISIS positions near Palmyra since its recent recapture of the city.
Most of the focus has been on gaining control of mountain areas north of Palmyra, which were used by ISIS in December as its launch point for its second capture of the city.
Jihadis fighters affiliated to Al-Qaeda launched a surprise attack on eastern Damascus today.
This attack comes after weeks of Jihadi defeats in and around Damascus, with the Syrian army steadily driving Jihadi fighters away from the Damascus countryside. The result has been to leave Damascus far more secure than it has been ever since the first big Jihadi offensive – Operation Damascus Volcano – launched by the Jihadis in June 2012.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Syrian political commentator Afraa Dagher. Throughout the conflict she has written pieces on the reality of this much misunderstood war as well as made appearances on a variety of global media outlets, including RT.
She is a patriotic Syrian whose words are deeply valuable to boththe friends and foes of Syria, many of whom rely exclusively on non-Syrians for news and analysis about the country and its struggle.
Here is what she had to say.
