On the night of December 7 to 8, a week after conquering the city of Aleppo, the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [ex-Front al-Nosra, qui a rompu avec al-Qaïda en adoptant un agenda local] and rebel groups close to Turkey and united within the “Syrian national army” brought down the regime of Bashar al-Assad by seizing Damascus without firing a shot.
“The state of barbarism has fallen. Finally,” reacted President Macron. For its part, the United States said it supports a “peaceful transition of power to a responsible Syrian government through an inclusive, Syrian-led process.” Which is far from won.
Indeed, the man who could be Syria's new strongman, Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, the leader of HTS, has a price on his head from Washington, which is offering $10 million for any information likely to lead to his capture. This is because of the ties he once established with the leaders of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
In any case, this change of regime in Damascus does not suit the Lebanese Hezbollah, which loses an ally after being weakened by the blows carried out by Israeli forces. Same thing for Iran, very involved in Syria, via the al-Quds force, the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
As for Russia, it has just suffered a major setback: its military establishments in the eastern Mediterranean, namely the port of Tartous and the air base of Hmeimim, are threatened and its reputation as a “security provider” is damaged, this which should give food for thought to certain African leaders who have turned to it to “fight terrorism” and establish their power.
Another unknown is the fate that will be reserved by the new regime for minorities, starting with the Christian community. Before the Syrian civil war, Aleppo had 150,000 Christians. There were only 25,000 left before the city was taken by HTS and its allies. And they only represent 2% of the population compared to 8% almost fifteen years ago. Alawite Muslims [proches des chiites]have lost their protector, Bashar al-Assad being one of their own.
Finally, the Kurds could also be threatened. Moreover, the Syrian Democratic Forces [FDS]a predominantly Kurdish coalition supported by the anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States, have already had trouble with pro-Turkish armed groups in the Manbij region. And, for the moment, it is Turkey which is reaping all the benefits of regime change in Damascus.
This could also benefit the Islamic State [EI ou Daesh]which has never been completely eradicated since it was defeated in Baghouz by the FDS in March 2019. According to the United Nations, the organization has between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq, not counting the other 9,000 detained in Syrian prisons.
Hence the airstrikes that American forces have just carried out in Syria, the objective being to ensure that ISIS cannot take advantage of the situation.
According to US CENTCOM, the American military command for the Middle East and Central Asia, this large-scale operation against ISIS mobilized B-52H Stratofortress bombers, F-15 Strike Eagle fighters and aircraft. A-10 Thunderbolt attack [ou Warthog].
According to an American official, around 140 munitions were fired at more than 75 positions held by the jihadist organization. “With the authorization of the president, we targeted a large gathering of ISIS fighters and leaders,” he said.
These strikes “were carried out as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, weaken and defeat ISIS.” They aimed to prevent the terrorist group from carrying out external operations and to ensure that it does not seek to take advantage of the current situation in central Syria to reconstitute itself,” he added.
“CENTCOM, in collaboration with its allies and partners in the region, will continue to conduct operations to degrade the operational capabilities of ISIS, even during this dynamic period in Syria,” the American command also assured.
CENTCOM “boss” General Michael Kurilla warned: “All organizations in Syria must know that we will hold them accountable if they associate with or support ISIS in any way.”
