“Lebanon Debonate” – Abdullah Qamh
The ongoing battle in Idlib turned into a “mini” regional war due to the intervention of more than one side on a field that does not exceed an area of 5000 square kilometers, as matters are gradually rolling into a major battle in case the battles continue at their pace and in light of the exchange of threats between the Syrian and Turkish armies And Russia’s explicit entry into the crisis line.
The damages currently reported from the battle are the chances of postponing the meeting of Erdogan – Putin next Thursday, which is a reliable meeting to extract a solution to the military dilemma in Idlib. The meeting was not referred to the “unknown” field after the Russian military worker entered the core of the flames of the ongoing battle.
Even the contact that took place between the Turkish Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Iranian Hassan Rouhani yielded no clear result other than the parties ’commitment to Astana’s political track, which was not reflected on the ground except with more disruption.
Complicating matters further, there were indications suggesting pre-prepared Turkish plans for the Syrian north. Whereas, in addition to supporting the armed factions with jihadist genetics, Turkish intentions seem to seek to establish the occupation of the Syrian north, thus dissolving it from the central government under the pretext of protecting civilians and the Syrian opposition and reintroducing the latter to it, which is the object of Syrian-Iranian-Russian rejection.
This indicates the expansion of the Turkish military intervention circle, as the available field information indicates that there is a Turkish rush towards expanding the battles beyond Saraqib to Ma`rat al-Numan. In parallel, the Turkish army, with the backing of armed groups, opened another parallel battle in the extreme countryside of Aleppo, aiming to return the armed opposition to the points from which it had previously been defeated.
The contact that took place between Erdogan and Rouhani suggests the depth of relations between the Iranian and Turkish sides on the political side, but on the military-security level, matters suggest a lot of complications in the field, especially after the Turkish army targeted a Hezbollah site that resulted in the martyrdom and wounding of more than 10 Lebanese fighters.
It is said that the phone contact between the two men specifically dealt with this bombing and other similar operations that were exposed to Iranian-backed military units within the Idlib hubs, but the Islamic Republic is certainly not concerned with any escalation that results in the expansion of the battle area by entering the fighting directly, although the sources do not deny Iranian units have the right to respond to sources of fire if they cross the red lines.
This atmosphere was revealed to him by the statement of the Iranian consultative center in Syria, which is the center that represents Iranian military advisers, when he drew the attention of the Turks that the Turkish military points are in the range of his forces, but he avoids responding to the sources of Turkish fire and intermediates through an understanding with the Turks and this happened and was repeated For more than once, this confirms the absence of the intention to enter a battle with the Turkish side.
It was remarkable that the Iranian statement was issued for the first time by this party, and it was issued in the wake of the Turkish targeting of Hezbollah, which indicates the greatness and accuracy of what happened and what necessitated warning the Turkish army of the consequences of resuming its excesses.
But the question that arises now is: Why did the Turkish army target the Hezbollah group, which led to the fall of its members between a martyr and a wounded, even though the party was previously refraining from carrying out any military targeting against the Turks?
The story started when opposition fighters surprised the Syrian army and Hezbollah by opening a front on the axis of the town of Talhiyeh, located in the extreme countryside of Aleppo. Confirming more than one field source, the operation aimed to transfer the clashes from Idlib to other points for the purpose of skepticism and attrition first, and secondly, it was clear that the Turkish army had an intention to allow the factions to re-enter the administrative borders of the province of Aleppo.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, the Syrian army, with the support of Hezbollah, fought fierce battles over the town’s axes, enabling them to absorb the attack of the opposition factions, backed by artillery and air support by the Turkish army, which later led to the erosion of the attack and the retreat of the attacking forces.
As night fell, Turkish artillery stationed in nearby areas began to carry out violent bombing operations, and this coincided with the flight of marches that were carrying out strikes targeting the positions of the Syrian army.
The novel says that one of the Hezbollah groups was present inside a building on one of Taliha axes, and was monitored by a Turkish woman, who initiated the bombing of the site with several missiles, which resulted in the fall of the fighters between a martyr and a wounded.
Immediately after the violent raid targeting non-Syrian forces by Turkey, conditions worsened, which led to intermediary communication between the Iranian consultative center and Turkish forces, which were formulated targeting the party members who were participating in protecting the town. The Turkish answer came first by denying that he had targeted members of Hezbollah, and then the recognition came later, but he informed those who contacted him that he was not in the context of targeting Hezbollah members and he had no knowledge of their presence at that point and that he thought that the targeting was directed against elements belonging to the Syrian army.
With this dangerous development taking place, fears prevailed over the battle towards Hezbollah and the Iranians entering the direct line facing the Turkish army, which means turning the battle into a regional one, especially as their positions were not far from the whereabouts of the Turkish forces.
Soon, the connections began to realize what was going to happen. Director General of Public Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim went to Ankara and met the Director of Turkish Intelligence Vidan Hakan, knowing that he is active on a line of approximation of views between the rival regional parties on the soil of Idlib. Simultaneously, the Iranian President contacted his Turkish counterpart on the same matter.
The constant so far is that Turkey denied its intention to target Hezbollah and probably offered condolences to the martyrs through the contact between Rouhani and Erdogan. And the party worked to control matters with Turkey and not escalate it or slide into a confrontation with Ankara, as evidenced by its wisdom in mourning its martyrs without any reference to their fall into the hands of Turkey, and then took the position of silence on the comment about what happened, whether in the funeral or in front of the families of the martyrs.
Elsewhere, Hezbollah eased the impact of what happened. And it seems, he tends to be convinced that a mistake may come from a miscalculation or the absence of intelligence data about the target location, and he referred the case to the Iranians under the statement of the Iranian consultative center.
But of course, nothing is free. The blood of the martyrs will likely have a price that will herald prominence in the coming days, and before the fall of the martyrs of Hezbollah is not the same as after it.
