It is likely that the last stronghold of terrorists on Syrian land – Deir ez-Zor – will soon fall, which government troops with the support of the Russian Air Space Forces are stormed from three sides. Yesterday, Syria could only dream of such successes, but now the troops under President Bashar Assad’s control are rapidly developing an offensive against ISIS on all fronts.
On August 26, 2015, when an agreement was signed between Russia and Syria on the deployment of an aviation group of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the Syrian territory, the situation in that country could not be called favorable for a legitimate government. Even if we recall the map of military operations two years ago, the armed forces of Bashar Assad had very little room for it. The subdivisions of the ISIS dominated there, many territories were under the control of the armed opposition forces. It could seem that in the near future Syria will be finally captured by terrorists.
The situation, albeit not immediately, began to change precisely with the appearance of Russian military personnel and active actions of the airborne component of the military reconnaissance system, whose precision impacts neutralized the actions of the militants, and then allowed the offensive to the government troops. In the fall of 2015, successful operations were carried out in the north-west of Syria, at the same time the first offensive took place in Aleppo and Homs, active combat operations were conducted in Latakia and in the Palmyra area, which had to be freed twice. Most importantly, the Syrian army, having acquired such a powerful ally as the Russian Air Space Forces, gained both confidence in its forces and learned to advance, and not only to defend itself.
The offensive by the Syrian government troops with the support of the Russian Air Space Forces at Deir ez Zor, one can not doubt, will end with the success of this important strategic operation. Not everyone likes this. A few days ago, the Western United Command issued a statement that it would not allow the Syrian army to force the Euphrates and declare the region an unmanned zone, which would bring down all aircrafts. Such bans, of course, will not stop the advance of the Syrian troops, which are already separating several dozen kilometers from the enemy, but rather spurring the more active actions of the Iranian armed forces, who are also fighting on the part of their border with the ISIS militants.
“In addition to support, now the Syrian army has received a powerful incentive, when it can take revenge for the last three years for all previous defeats by ISIS,” said the director of the Technology Analysis Center Ruslan Pukhov. “They now have allies like Lebanon and Iraq, who attack the jihadists on their tracks, which means they are spraying their forces. There was an opportunity to focus on the directions, among which the main thing now is Deir-ez-Zor, the unlocking of which can be considered a serious success for the last time. Another very important point is that, thanks to the political efforts of Russia, Damascus now spends less time fighting opposition forces, and with many has partner relations precisely because of the joint fight against Islamic State. It is unlikely that the situation in Syria will soon come to a state of general peace and reconciliation, but an undoubted positive is already present, which promises at least the prospect of an early cease-fire.”