The Syrian regime has sent military reinforcements to areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, where Turkey is threatening to carry out a ground military operation.
The agency quoted Anadolu local sources, on Wednesday, that since the beginning of December, military reinforcements belonging to the regime have arrived, to the vicinity of the cities of Manbah, Tal Rifaat and Ain al-Arab (Kobani).
These cities are targeted within the scope of the possible military operation, according to Turkish officials, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The reinforcements included tanks, artillery, and hundreds of fighters from Assad’s Tiger Forces (25th Special Mission Forces Division).
Regime reinforcements were stationed at military points in the vicinity of the three cities, including the artillery school in the Ramousah area and the Kuweires military airport in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.
According to the Turkish agency, the reinforcements were stationed on the line extending from southeast to southwest of Manbij, in the villages and towns of Kabbay Sfeir, Qabay Kabir, Sukhni, Obaid Mohammed, Shuaib, Tal Aswad, Khan al-Hamar, um Kharza, al-Hota and al-Arima.
In Tal Rifaat, Assad’s forces were stationed in the villages and towns of Nubl, Zahra, Mayer, Ritan, Hardatin, Deir Zeitoun, Tal Susin, Tal Jabin and Fafin.
In Ain al-Arab, regime reinforcements were stationed south of the city near the M4 highway, and included heavy weapons.
The accounts via Twitter specialized in monitoring military movements. They monitored, during the past days, the continuation of the Assad regime to send new forces to the countryside of Aleppo, following Turkish threats to launch a ground military operation inside Syrian territory.
The columns included tanks, armored vehicles, personnel carriers, artillery and rocket launchers, as well as members of several military formations, most notably the 25th Division, known as the Russian-backed Tiger Forces, which is led by Jamil al-Hassan.
According to military monitoring accounts, the largest destination of these convoys is the cities of Manbij and Tal Rifaat in rural Aleppo, followed by the rest of the areas such as the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani).
In these three cities, regime forces and Russia are deployed, although they are under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
There is still a lot of speculation surrounding the “negotiations” for the operation that Turkey intends to carry out in northern Syria, especially with the decline in Turkish bombardment of SDF areas in northern Syria, with the emergence of indications that may push Ankara to refrain from launching the ground operation that it had promised.
However, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in press statements on Tuesday that his country will not take permission from anyone to carry out military operations against the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the SDF in northern Syria, without specifying a timetable for that operation.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
