Syria’s Enemies Run for Cover as the Liberation of Aleppo Looms

Darko Lazar

The Syrian army and its allies have eastern Aleppo in their crosshairs, and they are closing in for the kill.

With the help of Russian airstrikes, Syrian forces and Lebanon's Hizbullah have captured the last remaining supply route into the bastion of the country's five-year, foreign-backed rebellion.

"The Syrian army and its allies can now secure the whole of Aleppo," says Damascus-based journalist Iyad Khuder.

This is much more than just another setback for militant groups in Syria. The advances on eastern Aleppo represent the culmination of months of global and regional political developments, serving as an omen for a devastating defeat of the Syrian militancy and another turn for the worse for its foreign backers.

All roads no longer lead to Turkey

Turkey's southern border has long served as a gateway for militants entering northern Syria, giving groups like Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] and the Nusra Front a foothold there. The free flow of armed fighters across the border also facilitated the occupation of eastern Aleppo by militants in the summer of 2012.

But today, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once served as the prime benefactor for terrorist groups in Syria, is openly feuding with Washington over this month's failed coup attempt in his home country.

Erdogan's government is not just amenably expressing its willingness to reestablish diplomatic ties with Damascus, but is completely distancing itself from the US-led NATO alliance system.

According to Syria's former ambassador to Turkey, Nidal Kabalan, "Turkey has been neutralized for a number of reasons. One is the recent coup attempt in Turkey. I believe that there is a whole new equation being drawn up in Syria and the whole region."

Iyad Khuder agrees that, "Turkey is no longer interested in doing anything substantial to save the militants in Aleppo."

"I don't want to be too optimistic, but I think that this time around, the Turks are not going to give a great deal of support to the militants. I think that in the aftermath of the failed coup, Turkey is seeking to amend its regional position. Everything is related here," he adds.

This new reality is setting off alarm bells among militant groups in Syria, as well as their remaining foreign backers.

The Nusra Front no longer wants to be al-Qaeda

In an almost comical attempt to rebrand itself, al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, announced it was ending its relationship with the global terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden.

In the first ever video statement known to actually show his face, the leader of the Nusra Front, Mohamad al-Jolani, announced that the group would reform under a new name, with "no ties to any foreign party".

Al-Jolani, who changed everything except the group's ideology, declared that the move is meant, "to remove the excuse used by the international community, spearheaded by America and Russia, that they are targeting the Nusra Front, which is associated with al-Qaeda."

Both Daesh and the Nusra Front have been excluded from a cessation of hostilities agreement engineered by the US and Russia earlier this year.

Since then, intelligence officials from a number of Persian Gulf Arab monarchies have reportedly met with al-Jolani on a number of occasions, encouraging him to separate from al-Qaeda in the hope of including the group in Syria's political future.

Khuder believes that the Nusra Front's makeover is "the Turkish/Saudi/Qatari response" to the encirclement of Aleppo by Syrian forces.

"This is all they are able and willing to do for the militants," said Khuder.

The timing of al-Jolani's announcement, which is essentially a cry for help by a movement facing full-blown defeat, also reveals that the bulk of the militant force currently trapped in eastern Aleppo is that of the Nusra Front.

Safe Passage

Syrian and Russian forces are launching "a large-scale humanitarian operation" in Aleppo's militant-held areas that "had become hostages of terrorists", according to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu.

Three humanitarian corridors are being opened to help residents leave eastern Aleppo.

But Shoygu explained that the US military has failed to provide information on the location of what it calls "moderate" militants in the city, following repeated requests from Moscow. The Russians were looking to spare the ‘moderates' from attacks directed at the Nusra Front.

Shoygu said that the Russian military would therefore open a fourth corridor for militants in the north of the city. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stated that he would pardon the militants who turned in their weapons.

And so, it appears that al-Jolani and his fighters are hoping to take advantage of the move. The rebranding of the Nusra Front will allow the terrorists to merge with so-called ‘moderate' groups and perhaps live to fight another day.

Khuder, however, doubts that this will ultimately be allowed to transpire. "This will not save the Nusra Front," he opines. "It is impossible for the Russians and Syrians to take this seriously. They will continue to target the terrorist group."

Of course, this would certainly not be the first time that foreign powers have tried to save the Nusra fighters in Aleppo.

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that Washington had asked Moscow to stop attacking Nusra positions in Syria "because there is a 'normal' opposition next" to the terrorist group.

The encirclement of Aleppo will undoubtedly be painted as a humanitarian catastrophe by the mainstream media in the coming days and weeks.

But Washington and its allies are able to do little more than sit back and watch Syria's second city slip from the grasp of their mercenary force.

Source: al-Ahed News