No, the war in Syria is not “still finished“, warns the UN. The United Nations warns, Tuesday, December 17, of clashes in the north of the country between Syrian Kurdish forces and groups supported by Turkey, in the wake of the rebel offensive which ousted power Bashar al-Assad on December 8, despite the new authorities, dominated by radical Islamists, who are trying to reassure themselves of their ability to pacify and reunify the country, which is fragmented and devastated by 13 years of civil war.
In certain areas of Syria, another offensive is raising questions: since the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli air force has carried out several hundred strikes. Since December 8, Syrian military sites have been heavily bombed, in order to prevent their capture by the new authorities. This operation, known as “Bashan Arrow”, notably destroyed anti-aircraft batteries, airfields, weapons production sites, missiles, radars and tanks. In fact, all of Syria’s strategic sites have been targeted and almost all of them destroyed.
To see the damage caused by these targeted operations, head to the southern suburbs of Damascus where two strikes destroyed ammunition depots on Monday evening. “You can see there, the collapsed building. It says: ‘Electronic Warfare Directorate'”shows us imam Alaa Chemseldine, the only one to agree to speak at our microphone. Around him, around ten fighters from the rebel group HTS who patrol a military site of which nothing remains.
“We strongly condemn Israel for the destruction of public institutions, institutions that belong to the people. Why is Israel attacking us ?”, asks the imam. The Hebrew State gave a first response through its Minister of Foreign Affairs: it is to prevent “Weapons do not fall into the hands of extremists”.
Israel is indeed displaying its distrust of the new authorities of the neighboring country: its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, held a security meeting in Syria on Tuesday, at the summit of Mount Hermon, on the borders of the part of the Golan occupied and annexed by Israel, where the Israeli army deployed after December 8. His deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, called HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, who now goes by his real name, Ahmad al-Charaaof “wolf in sheep’s clothing“.
“We are working on the return of Syria under the leadership of our leader Ahmed al-Sharaa [connu sous son nom de guerre, Abou Mohammed al-Joulani]. It’s going to be a new Syria !, enthuses the imam. And obviously, over time, we are not going to let anyone encroach on our land. It’s up to us and our leaders to decide.”
The HTS military chief called for a halt to these preemptive strikes and “incursions“Israeli forces, which the Syrians condemn without being able to retaliate. Before declaring that Syria was too “exhausted” to wage conflict with Israel.
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