Fact Sheet Syria
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FACT SHEET SYRIA IFK FORM 10.06.2017 UNTIL 25.07.2017 NUMBER 63 ANALYSEZENTRUM LANDESVERTEIDIGUNGSAKADEMIE INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT The seventh Geneva round of negotiations ended again forces and opposition leaders in Deraa, As-Suwayda and Train & Equip Program for so-called moderate rebels, which without breakthrough at the beginning of July, but the UN Quneitra was made, and overseen by the Russian military was established under President Obama in 2013, produced Special Envoy de Mistura is optimistic that representatives police, Jordanian and American forces, according to Rus- only few successes as the groups affected by the training of the regime and the opposition would negotiate directly sian Foreign Minister Lavrov. Israeli Prime Minister Neta- were weakened rapidly. Already in 2015 the support was at a table at the next talks in September. The fifth round of nyahu also fears that the established ceasefire agreement reduced to those fighters fighting exclusively the IS as well the Astana talks, which had just taken place, also ended near the Israeli border will serve to consolidate Iran and as the Al-Qaida. The discontinuation of the program, how- without a result. The Syrian regime accused Turkey of blo- its proxy forces in southern Syria. Israel will continue to ever, does not apply to the Kurdish-dominated SDF forces cking the implementation of de-escalation zones. A working do everything possible to prevent an Iranian presence near that have greatly benefited from weapon deliveries and group meeting to clarify the technical details of the zones its borders. The accusation of the Wall Street Journal that combat training since 2016. will be held in Tehran in August. The Turkish spokesperson, Israel supports Syrian rebels near the Golan Heights with In the run-up to the areas liberated by the IS, the regime, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkey and Russia could jointly pro- wages for fighters, food and medical goods, was rejected together with its allies, Iran, is planning to continue its al- vide troops for the Idlib area, Iran and Russia would be ent- by Netanyahu. He insisted Israel would not interfere in the ready launched offensive in the Euphrates Valley and to take rusted with the forces of Damascus and the US and Jordan bloody conflict and would only allow the medical treatment the last high fortress of IS, Deir ez-Zour. Furthermore, they with the control of the south-west of Syria. of Syrian children. increased efforts to gain control of the entire east of Syria In the context of the increased battles in the tri-border At the end of July, US President Trump declared the ces- along the Syrian-Iraqi border, before other competing forces region of of Syria-Jordan-Iraq, a truce between regime sation of the CIA program to support anti-Assad rebels. The take advantage. INTERNAL POLITICS HUMANITARIAN SITUATION President Assad is planning a national administrative re- supported by Turkey and some Gulf States. The province is The UN refugee agency announced that since the begin- form to integrate the conquered territories. Thus, a commit- now almost completely controlled by the Al-Qaida offshoot. ning of 2017 some 440,000 internally displaced persons tee is to promote the re-establishment of state institutions In Afrin, north of Syria, thousands of Kurds protested have been able to return to their homes. and economic development in Aleppo an Western Raqqa. against a possible Turkish intervention, after the PKK-domi- A report from the International Organization for the Pro- The regime also criticized the plan for the establishment nated YPG and Turkish troops had exchanged shots several hibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that the of de-escalation zones, given fears of a likely foreign in- times. YPG Commander Hemo described the turkish ag- attack on Khan Sheikhoun on 4 April this year occurred but tervention, particularly of Turkey and Qatar that could favor gression as a war declaration. did not suggest any responsible persons. a possible division of Syria, and the setting up of a buffer The expected loss of the IS capital Raqqa led to increased Syria was shaken last month on numerous fronts of at- zone in the south-west region for Israel. exit of IS commanders and their families to Al-Mayadeen. tacks. In Damascus, a series of bomb attacks occurred in In the rebel-held Idlib, after a week of fighting, an ag- This area is difficult to access for missiles, as it lies along early July, with at least 20 people being killed in one of the reement was made between the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat the Euphrates near the Syrian-Iraqi border and is currently explosions. In the town of Idlib, which was held by rebels, Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, being built by the IS as a new command and control center. a suicide attack occurred, with numerous dead and injured. Civilian casualties within the framework of the air strikes MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS of various actors remained unchanged. A bombardment of a rebel-controlled suburb of Damascus killed at least 10 The Kurdish-dominated SDF launched the battle around the old again the target of grenades by rebels, but no casualties were people. In a US air attack on an IS-operated prison in Deir town of Raqqa. According to American estimates, there are still reported. ez-Zour, at least 57 people were killed by the Syrian Ob- 2000 IS fighters in the city. The US-backed SDF took control of A de-escalation agreement has recently been reached with the servatory for Human Rights. Shortly thereafter, another air the western Al-Qadissiya district and the eastern Al-Batani district. FSA-related groups in the eastern Ghouta region in Damascus, via strike in the province of Deir ez-Zor claimed 30 casualties, At the same time, the Syrian army and its allied militia conquered mediation of Russia and Egypt. in which case it was not possible to determine precisely numerous villages west of Raqqa. Syrian troops and allied forces reached the Iraqi border in the who was responsible for the attack. From the end of May to Meanwhile, in mid-June, a US combat aircraft fired a Syrian fight against the IS for the first time since 2015. The regime is the end of June, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights fighting jet in the province of Raqqa after it had targeted fighters competing with the US and its allies for the domination of the stra- recorded 472 death victims through international air raids. of the SDF. The regime is in direct competition with the SDF in its tegically important border region. This is the highest number of victims in a single month battles against the IS. After the launch, Russia threatened to fire at In the offensive in south Syria, the regime has made further since 2014. any aircraft of the US-led coalition that flies west of the Euphrates progress in the fight against al-Qaeda-dominated block Hayat Tah- The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, employed a River. Against the backdrop of the agreement of a de-escalation rir al-Sham (HTS) in Deraa. The battles were briefly interrupted by former French judge as a special investigator, whose task zone in the south-west of Syria, cooperation between Russia and a unilaterally declared truce by the regime, but the shooting of a was to collect evidence of war crimes that had taken place the US seems to be fully restored. Syrian fighter was followed. during the six-year civil war, and to prepare him for any pro- Russia also fired cruise ships from the Mediterranean to IS In reactuib to grenade shells at the Golan Heights, the Israeli Air ceedings. positions in Palmyra, which had previously been withdrawn from Force responded to bombardment of the regime. Israel's Defense The SDF pardoned dozens of IS fighters who were captu- Raqqa with heavy weapons. Minister Liberman underlined that Assad must bear the conse- red in the fight for Raqqa as a sign of goodwill. In mid-July, the Russian embassy in Damascus was once quences for any threats to Israeli sovereignty. Maragheh Viranşehir Kızıltepe Osmaniye Gaziantep Şanlıurfa Zaxo Miandoab TERRITORIAL CONTROL As of: 20.07.2017 Adana TURKEY Zanjan Mersin CeyhanCeyhan Cheekha Dar Tarsus Ain al-Arab (Kobane) Al-Qamishli Dohuk Rebels al- 3611 Mahabad Qazvin Khabur Rawanduz Bukan Occupied territories by Turkish-backed rebels Iskenderun Manbij Occupied territories by different Islamist groups Al-Hasaka Saqqez Karaj Al-Bab Tal Afar Raniyah TEHERAN Sinjar Mossul Jihadist Rebels Rey a Antakya Aleppo IS controlled e Al Assad Ash-Shaddadi Erbil S Idlib As-Safira Reservoir Ar-Raqqa Assad regime and allies Makhmur n Sabkhat As-Sulaymaniyah Occupied territories by the Government a al-Jabbul e Maarrat al-Numaan Iraqi government and allies Saveh Orontes Kirkuk Sanandaj n Latakia Ash-Sharqat Chamchamal a Occupied territories by the Government Khan Shaykhun Hawija r Tigris r Deir ez-Zour with support of various Militias Hama SYRIA Hamadan Qom e t Salamiyah Kurds i Al-Mayadin d Tartus Occupied territories (Syria) by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) e Homs Malayer Tikrit Diyala Occupied territories (Iraq) by the Kurds Arak M Tripoli Palmyra (Tadmur) Euphrates Al Qadisiya Kermanshah Abu Kamal River Reser voir Israeli-occupied territories Qaryatayn Samarra LEBANON Al-Qa‘im Baalbek Al-Miqdadiyah Borujerd An-Nabk Haditha BEIRUT Wadi Balad Tharthar Baquba Ilam Dorud Sidon Baghdadi Khorramabad Mt. Hermon Douma Hit Fallujah Tyros 2814 Al-Walid DAMASKUS IRAQ Ramadi BAGHDAD UNIFIL UNDOF IRAN Kuneitra Habbania Lake Heifa Golan ISR Ar-Rutbah Sea of Andimeshk Sea of Heights As-Suwayda