Iraqi and Syrian forces managed yesterday to take control of the entire border area south of the Euphrates River, at a time of fierce clashes with «Daash» on the outskirts of Albuqmal
Clashes continued on the outskirts of the southern and eastern city of Boukmal yesterday, after the Syrian army and its allies had retreated from their inner neighborhoods and from their western surroundings, and concentrated on their borders. And accompanied with the intensification of the air force and artillery to bombard the sites of the organization «Dahesh» within the city. Yesterday witnessed a significant development in the Syrian east, through the control of Iraqi and Syrian forces on the entire border and adjacent areas on both sides.
These include the village of Okla Suwab and the Al-Kamoun camp on the Iraqi side, the Faydah Al-Baaj and Wadi Al-Sawab farms and their extension to the Wadi Al-Wa’ar on the Syrian side. The latest development ended the existence of a full “da’ash” in the border area south of the Euphrates. It allowed for a wide territorial connection that extends from the Qa’im al-Buqamal crossing to the east of al-Zaqf area on the Syrian side, up to 160 kilometers. In parallel, Iraqi forces announced their control of the towns of Roumieh, Baidah, Buwais, Jabriyah, Sahemah and Miliyi, west of Rawa city in Anbar province. She explained that the elements «Daash» withdrew from the towns to the depth of the desert in the north-west of the city of Rawa, adding that it reached the outskirts of the city and preparing to liberate it from the organization.
As the Syrian army continues its march south of the fields to the south, towards Al-Bu Kamal, in the vicinity of the Euphrates Valley without breaking into any of these towns, it appears to be “pushing” violent resistance on the joint fronts with the army. Yesterday, a security breach at the Deir al-Zour military airport resulted in the arrival of a number of its members from the Chechen nationality to the airport through the desert, crossing a number of checkpoints as soldiers from the Russian forces. After entering, they managed to target a number of parked planes within the airport precinct before attempting to head towards a command post. The garrison of the airport was able to kill the militants after clashes with a suicide bombing, and caused the death and injury of a number of elements of the army.
These developments coincide with the lengthy investigation published by the BBC in English, which included details of the deal concluded by the International Alliance with the organization «Daqash» to remove the tenderness without fighting, and the direction of the countryside Deir Ezzor, to the joint fronts with the Syrian army . According to the investigation, the convoy that left Al-Raqqa included about 4000 fighters and civilians, including non-Syrian elements of various nationalities, in contrast to the claims of the “coalition” and the “Syrian Democratic Forces”. Referring to truck drivers who took off the gunmen, he pointed to the route taken by the convoy to a town on the banks of the Khabour river between the towns of Tire (Deir al-Zour) and Markada (Al-Hasakah countryside). The drivers confirmed that the gunmen had brought with them their full equipment and ammunition with heavy weights that damaged some trucks. The investigation, which tracks the convoy’s route in the south-eastern Rifqa countryside, indicated that the coalition aircraft observed the bus through its course and accompanied the convoy at a low altitude at the end of its course, firing “light flares” to light the area. Although the content of the “dirty deal”, as described by the investigation, was not new, the details revealed by Washington’s “rosy” narrative of its agreement with the organization, and pushed it towards the fronts of the Syrian army and its allies in the Euphrates valley.
On the other hand, in an initial Turkish reaction to the US-Russian joint statement issued in Vietnam, specifically on the lack of a military solution to the conflict in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “I have a problem in understanding these statements. If the military solution is outside the accounts, then those who say this should withdraw their forces. ” Erdogan’s speech came ahead of his trip to Moscow, a visit to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two presidents touched on the path of “political settlement” in Syria and the areas of “easing escalation” and “joint action” in the Afrin region, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Gawishoglu said that his country does not oppose in principle holding conferences to resolve the crisis in Syria, but does not agree to call any “terrorist group” to it, referring to the “Democratic Union Party »Kurdish, explaining that the party« does not represent all the Kurds in Syria ». In the light of the talk of the “settlement” conferences, the Higher Negotiating Body announced that it would hold an extensive meeting in Riyadh between 22 and 24 of this month in order to form the “negotiating team” and resume the talks in Geneva.
In the vicinity of the “easing escalation” area in Idlib and its environs, the army continued to move from Mahouri Abu Dali and south of Khanazir and was able to control a number of towns. In parallel, the clashes returned to the southern countryside of Aleppo between the Sham Liberation Organization and the Nur al-Din al-Zanki movement after a cease-fire agreement was signed late last night. In parallel, the countryside of Aleppo saw a number of air raids, especially in the town of Atareb. The Anatolia news agency quoted local sources as saying that the number of the raids reached about 43 victims yesterday, and a number of wounded.