Posted on 01/11/2019 10:57:05 AM PST by Texas Fossil
ERBIL– Senior local officials in the northern Syrian city of Manbij said that both the US-led coalition and the Russian military police are operating in the area, including conducting regular patrols.
Manbij Military Council (MMC) Commander Mohammed Abu Adel told Kurdistan 24 that there have been no changes on the ground regarding coordination with US forces and joint patrols, both of which continue.
“We also have contact with Russian troops in Manbij. But there is only the internal security forces and Manbij Military Council forces that are deployed on the ground in Manbij,” Adel said.
Since Monday, Russian military police units have been patrolling a 5 km wide and 27 km long security zone near Manbij city on the al-Arimah, Yulanli, Saydiyah, Dali Fa'r, Bawz Kij route, a Russian government-linked monitoring center confirmed on Tuesday.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the joint patrols are run between the al-Bab Military Council, which is linked to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Russian soldiers.
Until recently, there were no Russian troops or military police in Manbij, but they entered after the re-establishment of the Russian-Syrian Coordination Centre in Manbij in late December.
On Dec. 28, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) called on Damascus to protect Manbij against Turkish attacks.
MMC spokesperson Sharvan Darwish told Kurdistan 24 at the time that, “there are no other forces in Manbij apart from the Manbij Military Council.”
“The YPG have withdrawn their forces since 2016 after Manbij was liberated from Daesh [Islamic State],” he said, adding that, after the US withdrawal announcement, different forces have been trying to enter Manbij.
Timur Akhmetov, a researcher at the Russian International Affairs Council, told Kurdistan 24 that the new patrols “might be interpreted as Russia's desire to prove itself as a mediator between the PYD [Democratic Union Party] and other forces.”
(Excerpt) Read more at kurdistan24.net ...
Are adults stepping forward to end the nonsense? I hope so, but the is the Middle East. Anything is possible there.
I'd say this is a good short term effort for stability.
Manbij prevents Erd from flanking the Kurds during an attack from the North.
Best for Erd to settle for Afrin and move his Jihadis there.
That guarantees he’ll have plenty of Kurd “terrorists” to alarm people with in the near future as Afrin has long been Hurdish.
He’ll also have plenty of excuses to ‘punish’ Kurds East of the Euphrates.
“The war goes on! Security!”
Best for Syria to defend the Kurds outside of Afrin. Will provude plenty of Kurd “terrorists” to retake Afrin. Will give Syria oil fields.
Heck, that’s win-win for both Syria and Turkey!
Best for Russia and China if Turkey attacks E of the Euphrates. Will sever Turkey from the West and put Turkey conpletely at the mercy of Russian air power and Chinese money.
But I don’t see what’s best for us except getting out with little harm to the Kurds. And great intelligence assets in Syria.
I think that is what the jolt from Trump was about.
Will it work? I'd say probably, eventually.
Politics makes for strange bedfellows.
Yes, indeed.
Assad and the Kurds should ally. They’re both minorities in Syria.
Should, but so far Assad is resisting in spite of Russia. We will soon see now.
Russia calls on Yemenis to implement the UN ceasefire agreement (http://tass.com/politics/1039583 )
That agreement is for the Iranian-backed Houthis to turn the ports over to UN control - likely the Strategic decider of the war in favor of the Saudi/Emirati-backed Government over Iran’s surrogates.
Maybe Russia sees Iran buckling under sanctions, and is making what gains it can by selling them out, while they are still worth something. If so, it could really change the calculus in Syria.
OK, I’ll ‘go there’...
I think we were pressuring the Kurds to come to a deal!
Assad had agreed to let them keep their arms.
I assume the sticking point was that Kurds wanted to keep their forces seperated too.
Assad insists they be integrated and subject to Syrian command.
Duroing the Afrin invasion Assad insited the Kurds first lay down their arms before he would help, so this is a concession by Assad. (Though it’s probable the Afrin offer wasn;t in good faith- as what good could come from the Kurds disarming in that situation?)
Heck, they both probably needed encouragement.
Yesterday:
“Russia|n MoD said: “#Turkey should admit that Idlib has become a central point of terrorism. We will take steps regarding this matter because threatens our interests in Syria”.”
(”Get out of Idlib “ in other words.)
Sticking points with Kurds for Efrin?
Surrendering their arms.
Turn leadership of forces over the IRGC. Iran control.
Neither were acceptable.
My friends told me early this week, that they would all die fighting if we pull out rather than have another Efrin.
This is not a bluff. They mean it.
With the right support, the could and would take out Erdogan. With the way they have been treated, I honestly don’t blame them.
Yes, they are to the left of me politically. But the Syrian Kurds are good people and great soldiers. Many of them are Christian too.
Yes. Thanks for that thought.
Russia and Israel do have communications. We get varied reports of the meetings they have, but neither of them makes their relationship very clear.
The Globalists and the US Left are lock step against Israel, it may be why the Russia, Russia, Russia nonsense is important to them. Not just covering for Hillary’s crimes, but to prevent Russia and US to cooperate on a common aim in the Middle East.
Guess we will see.
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