Battle for East Ghouta

The German government is again attempting to have a greater impact on the power struggle over Syria, in view of the battles to take control of the region of East Ghouta, east and northeast of Damascus - with a current population of 400,000 according to UN estimates. The region is one of the so-called de-escalation zones agreed to by Russia, Iran and Turkey in the Astana talks last year. Attempts to salvage the de-escalation and prevent a new flare-up of the war in East Ghouta had been thwarted by Salafist jihadi militia on November, 14, 2017. Following a series of minor skirmishes, they launched attacks on government troop positions in Harasta, a town near the border of the Salafist-controlled region. The battles have not calmed since. The East Ghouta Salafist jihadi militias have begun to arbitrarily launch rockets into residential areas of Damascus, killing dozens of civilians. These attacks target particularly residential districts with Christian populations, apparently to spread fear and panic among non-Muslims.[1]

A Repressive Regime

In view of the ongoing shelling of residential areas of Damascus, the Syrian government has recently launched a military offensive to retake East Ghouta, once and for all. The four militias in control of the area include Hayat Tahrir al Sham directly allied with al Qaida and Ahrar al Sham, which has been cooperating with al Qaida for several years and has been explicitly classified by the German judiciary as a terrorist organization.[2] A third militia, Failaq al Rahman, has officially disassociated itself from al Qaida but, according to reports, has concluded a de-facto military alliance with al Qaida\'s offshoots, to have a better standing within the power struggles among East Ghouta\'s various Salafist jihadi militias. Even experts, who adamantly oppose the government of Bashar al Assad, admit that the militias in East Ghouta have established a repressive regime, enforcing \"conservative religious laws\" and brutally suppressing any opposition. It has been confirmed repeatedly -also by Amnesty International - that the militias are preventing civilians from fleeing, even arresting people for simply asking permission to leave the war zone.[3]

East Aleppo, Mosul, Raqqa, East Ghouta

From the military point of view, the situation in East Ghouta strongly resembles those in the re-capturing of East Aleppo, (June - December 2016), Mosul (October 2016 - July 2017) and Raqqa (June - October 2017). The combat, including the air raids, are carried out in a densely urbanized area. This is a horrible situation for the civilian population. According to the Atlantic Council - an organization above suspicion of harboring prejudices toward the Assad government or of being pro-Russian - nearly 3,500 civilians were killed during Aleppo\'s recapture.[4] The battle for Mosul, according to comprehensive research by the Associated Press (AP) news agency - also not under suspicion of being anti-western - at least between 9,000 and 11,000 civilians were killed. AP has proof that at least 3,200 had been killed directly by the US-led anti-IS coalition attacks; another two-thirds were killed by the IS, and one-third had been caught in crossfire, so it is unclear, who had actually fired the fatal shots.[5] It can be assumed that not all of these victims had been killed by IS. Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi has admitted to only 1,260 civilians killed, whereas the anti-IS coalition admits to a mere 326 victims of their attacks.[6] In the battle over Raqqa, according to the organization Airwars - which relies on multiple documented cases and whose claims are occasionally criticized for being too low - at least 1,400 civilians had been killed by anti-IS coalition bombing, in the period only between June and October 2017.. Of the estimated 2,878 civilians killed throughout that year by anti-IS coalition\'s air raids, more than 80 percent had been killed in Raqqa.[7]

\"Worse than Auschwitz\"

Berlin had strongly criticized the battle for East Aleppo and is now condemning the battle for East Ghouta.. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, has accused the governments of Russia, Iran and Syria of responsibility for \"targeted [!] attacks on civilians and hospitals.\" \"Those crimes must be punished.\"[8] German media, at the time, were referring to \"genocide,\" a \"war of annihilation\" - and even trivializing the Shoah - claiming \"Aleppo is worse than Auschwitz.\"[9] Accusations concerning the civilian victims of air raids on Mosul and Raqqa were completely absent in western politics and in a large segment of western media. If punishment would be demanded for these war crimes, the commanders of the Bundeswehr and the German government, itself, would also be charged - after all, the German Air Force\'s reconnaissance flights were playing a central role in the bombings carried out by the anti-IS coalition. Only now, in reference to the battles for control of East Ghouta, the accusation of a \"war of annihilation\" is again in use.[10] In the Bundestag last week, Chancellor Merkel literally alleged that in Syria, \"it is not a case of a regime combating terrorists, but its own people.\"[11] Merkel and France\'s President Emmanuel Macron wrote a letter to Russia\'s President Vladimir Putin - which included the allegation that in East Ghouta, the civilian population is being submitted \"to an unprecedented level of violence.\" Moscow should therefore \"talk sense to the Syrian government.\"[12]

Facing Defeat

Double standards are typical for politicians and the media in countries involved in wars, particularly when they face, like Germany, political defeat. Since the summer of 2011, Berlin has been banking on the Assad government\'s overthrow. In 2012, in cooperation with representatives of the Syrian opposition in exile, it established a road map for Syria\'s post-war reorganization, entitled \"The Day After.\"[13] Within the framework of the international \"Friends of Syria\" alliance, Germany has been participating in preparations for the aftermath of Assad\'s overthrow.[14] In August 2012, the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) bragged of having made an \"important contribution ... to the overthrow of the Assad regime.\"[15] The anticipated overthrow, however, did not materialize. German hopes received their first heavy blow with Russia\'s intervention in the early fall 2015.[16] The run-up to the ultimate defeat came with the battle for Aleppo, when Russia assumed the leadership in ceasefire negotiations and a solution to the war.[17] If the Syrian government can recapture East Ghouta, it would further consolidate its position, whereas the Berlin-supported segment of the (exiled) opposition would possibly face ultimate defeat. Berlin\'s current political offensive against Syria is an attempt to turn the tide at the last moment.

[1] Gudrun Harrer: Assads Topgeneral vor den Toren der Ost-Ghouta. derstandard.at 21.02.2018. Aron Lund: Understanding Eastern Ghouta in Syria. irinnews.org 23.02.2018.

[2] See also Steinmeier und das Oberlandesgericht and Terrorunterstützer.

[3] Aron Lund: Understanding Eastern Ghouta in Syria. irinnews.org 23.02.2018.

[4] Atlantic Council: Breaking Aleppo. Washington, February 2017.

[5] Susannah George: Mosul is a graveyard: Final IS battle kills 9,000 civilians. apnews.com 21.12.2017.

[6] AP: Death toll in Mosul 10 times higher than acknowledged. cbsnews.com 20.12.2017.

[7] Julian Borger: US air wars under Trump: increasingly indiscriminate, increasingly opaque. theguardian.com 23.01.2018.

[8] Dirk Hoeren: Merkel verurteilt Russland und Iran.. bild.de 16.12.2016.

[9] See also Die Schlacht um Mossul (IV).

[10] Vernichtungskrieg. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 21.02.2018.

[11] Massaker unverzüglich beenden. bundesregierung.de 23.02.2018.

[12] Merkel und Macron schreiben an Putin. bundesregierung.de 25.02.2018.

[13] See also The Day After and The Day After (IV).

[14] See also Im Rebellengebiet.

[15] Christoph Reuter, Raniah Salloum: Das Rätsel des deutschen Spionage-Schiffs. spiegel.de 20.08.2012.

[16] See also Consistencies in Western Hegemonic Policy.

[17] See also Aleppo, Mossul und die Hegemonie and Vom Krisenstaat zum Gestalter.

Erdogan si mostra indifferente rispetto all’arrivo di truppe governative siriane e continua gli attacchi contro Afrin.

Dopo un attacco dell’esercito turco contro un convoglio con combattenti di una milizia leale al regime di Damasco, nel nord della Siria si delinea un nuovo inasprimento della guerra su più fronti. Il convoglio era in viaggio verso il cantone autogovernato di Afrin, sotto attacco da parte dell’esercito turco da oltre un mese, quando è stato colpito dal fuoco di un drone e dell’artiglieria della Turchia. Due miliziani sono rimasti uccisi e altri tre feriti.

Dopo giorni di trattative, le Unità di Difesa del Popolo curde YPG e il governo di Damasco martedì hanno raggiunto un patto militare. «Le nostre forze hanno chiesto al governo e all’esercito della Siria di assolvere i loro compiti nella difesa di Afrin e dei confini», ha dichiarato il portavoce delle YPG Nuri Mahmud. «Su questa base il governo siriano ha inviato unità militari nella regione. Queste unità verranno posizione sulla linea di confine e difenderanno i confini e l’integrità territoriale della Siria». Da parte del governo siriano finora non ci sono dichiarazioni ufficiali sull’accordo.

Le truppe siriane inviate a Afrin sono unità delle Forze di Difesa Nazionali (NDF). Queste unità di volontari sono state formate nel 2012 da Damasco per il sostegno dell’esercito arabo-siriano. Le unità NDF ora arrivate a Afrin, provengono dalle città di Nubl e Zahra. Durante un assedio da parte del Fronte Al-Nusra, propaggine siriana di Al-Qaeda, durato quasi quattro anni, queste enclave sciite erano state rifornite da Afrin attraverso un corridoio tenuto aperto dalle YPG. Filmati diffusi attraverso i social network mostrano i miliziani dopo il loro arrivo a Afrin città. Insieme a sostenitori delle YPG sventolano bandiere dello Stato siriano e i gagliardetti triangolari delle YPG. Contemporaneamente risuonano grida di «Siamo una cosa sola».

Il Presidente turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan si è mostrato indifferente rispetto a immagini del genere. Le milizie dopo «spari di avvertimento» sarebbero tornate indietro, ha sostenuto martedì a Ankara in spregio della verità. L’argomento con questo sarebbe «per ora chiuso», ha dichiarato Erdogan secondo il quotidiano Zeitung Hürriyet D\aily News. Nel corso di telefonate all’inizio della settimana con il Presidente russo Vladimir Putin e il Presidente iraniano Hassan Rohani a questo proposito ci sarebbe stato accordo. «Purtroppo alcuni gruppi terroristici in solitaria a volte prendono decisioni sbagliate. Questo è inaccettabile. Dovranno pagare per questo.» Con questo Erdogan assume la posizione che le NDF sarebbero forze irregolari che agiscono senza essersi accordate con il governo siriano, ovverosia i suoi alleati russi e iraniani.

Il Presidente turco non sbaglia del tutto. Perché come all’inizio della settimana ha riferito il portale di notizie The Region facendo riferimento a rappresentanti curdi di Afrin, il governo russo avrebbe cercato di impedire il patto militare tra Damasco e Afrin per non mettere in pericolo l’accordo di Astana. Lì la Turchia è coinvolta come forza di garanzia per una soluzione pacifica in Siria. Per riguardo a Mosca quindi evidentemente il punto decisivo della difesa antiaerea è stato tenuto fuori dall’accordo tra Damasco e Afrin. Perché un controllo dello spazio aereo tecnicamente sarebbe possibile solo attraverso l’esercito ufficiale siriano (SAA) e in accordo con l’esercito russo. Dopo che l’artiglieria turca nella notte ha sparato contro il territorio della città di Afrin, l’aviazione mercoledì ha di nuovo effettuato attacchi aerei contro la città capoluogo di Jindires.

Intanto il capo della milizia «Resistenza Siriana – Fronte Popolare della Provincia di Iskenderun», Mihrac Ural, ha dichiarato di andare con un «secondo contingente» di truppe governative a Afrin. Come misura di creazione di fiducia nei confronti delle YPG, Ural ha pubblicato vecchie foto che lo ritraggono in Siria insieme al fondatore del PKK Abdullah Öcalan. Solo la scorsa settimana Ankara aveva messo Ural, il segretario dell’organizzazione turca marxista-leninista «Acilciler», che dal golpe militare del 1980 vive in Siria, sulla lista dei «terroristi» più ricercati e aveva messo sulla sua testa una taglia di quattro milioni di Lire turche (ca. 850.000 Euro) per la sua cattura. Obiettivo dichiarato di Ural, alevita arabo di Hatay, è la liberazione di quella provincia siriana annessa dalla Turchia alla fine degli anni ‘30.

da https://www.jungewelt.de/

Traduzione di Rete Kurdistan