In Syria, Turkey and Russia are undermining the agreement Turkey uses its convoys in Syria not for what the Moscow agreement says

Text: Eugene Krutikov

A Turkish convoy was ambushed by jihadists in Idlib. This is not an ordinary event of a protracted war – this means that one of the key agreements between Russia and Turkey is called into question. Who did the Turkish forces encounter and why did it come as a surprise to them?

The incident, which turned into a full-fledged battle, happened on the morning of March 19 on the M4 highway near the village of Muhambal. It is the geographically precise center of the highway linking Latakia province with Aleppo, roughly between the major cities of Jisr al-Shugur and erikha. From the South, Muhambal is accessed by a road from the al-Gaab valley and the Zawiya mountains, which are now controlled by the Syrian government army. Along with Jisr al-Shugur, the village of Muhambal (no more than three thousand people before the war, now noticeably more due to the families of militants) is a key position on the M4 highway.

According to Moscow agreements, only joint Russian-Turkish patrols should move along the highway, and the Turks should clear six kilometers North of the highway from the militants. Russians – the same distance South of the road. The patrols were supposed to start working on March 15, but the militants, hiding behind the civilian population, blocked their movement. The Russian side gave the Turks another week to deal with the situation, but in fact the processes in Idlib are quite different.

The Turkish convoy was caught in a classic ambush for this kind of war. First, land mines exploded on both sides of the road as it advanced, after which the jihadists began to fire at the convoy itself. The Turks lay down and took the fight. Some sources report losses among Turkish soldiers, but Ankara does not confirm this in any way. There is evidence that the Turks are transferring reinforcements to Muhambal. Syrian sources also report that fighters from both Hayat Tahrir al-sham and the Pro-Turkish Jabhat Wataniya al-Tahrir are also flocking there.

The ambush was set up by militants of the organization “Hurras al-DIN” (“Defenders of the faith”), which broke away from al-Qaeda a couple of years ago. Al-Qaeda was not radical enough for them. Earlier, the defenders repeatedly stated that they do not accept any Moscow agreements and are not going to observe the truce. This is a group that is not controlled by anyone and is inclined to impose the Sharia way of life on all mankind. The defenders have been declared a terrorist organization and have been repeatedly bombed by all the forces involved in Syria. So, one of the leaders of the group was killed during the American RAID, and the other – as a result of targeted actions of the Russian aerospace forces.

Earlier-at the height of the power of ISIL* – it was from among the “defenders” that the so – called hizbah-Sharia police were recruited, which monitored the behavior of people and dismembered them in the streets for non-compliance with Sharia norms. “Hizb” means “responsibility”. Their motto is ” Enjoy the good and condemn the bad.” “Good” and “bad” – in this case, “Halal” and “Haram”, that is, what is allowed and what is condemned by Sharia. In some countries (Saudi Arabia, Sudan), hizbah is a legal part of power, but, for example, in Egypt, leading theologians strongly condemn this practice, calling it “an outdated and medieval understanding of Islam.” In fact, this led to sadistic cruelty in Syria towards non-Muslims and Muslims who did not comply with Sharia law in some way.
The last time “hizbah” was seen in late 2018, just in Saraqib, where they drove around the streets in “wheelbarrows” and through a megaphone called on the local population to ” return to Sharia.” At the same time, the” defenders ” operated throughout Syria – from Deraa in the South to Idlib in the North. They include a lot of foreigners, for example, Uighurs. With the beginning of the creation of the “Idlib reserve”, the “defenders” together with their families moved to Idlib from all over Syria, where they actually occupied Muhambal.

In General, the segment of the M4 highway from Jisr al-Shugur to Erikha (the Central part) is home to the majority of extremely radical groups with a large number of foreigners. This was the first time the Turks had encountered such a situation.

Despite the fact that even under the Sochi agreements, they had to disarm all these Barmalei (and for this they received preferences to stay in Idlib), they never even made an attempt to do so. Their relationship with the radicals was limited to behind-the-scenes negotiations and pitting them against government forces. Now we have a “response”.

This is a real test for the Turks. It is possible to clear the M4 highway only by means of infantry combat, and the Turkish drones that have reappeared in the sky over Idlib with the consent of the Russian side are small helpers here. And the question of principle – either the Turkish army destroys the jihadists, or the Moscow agreements are in ruins.

There is, however, a strange detail. The ambushed Turkish convoy was a convoy, not a patrol. There is evidence that it included a leopard tank, but it did not move on its own, but on a tractor. The convoy may also have included the atilgan SAM. This is far from what was envisaged in the Moscow agreements. This is not a patrol, but the transfer of heavy equipment along the highway, which, according to the provisions of the agreement, should become a demilitarized zone.

In the past week, the Turkish side has been actively increasing its military presence in Idlib. Military equipment is transferred there by such convoys, as well as engineering equipment for fortified positions. The Turks are urgently building a full-fledged military base near the village of al-Jiha (this is in the direction of Aleppo). The Moscow agreements did not provide for anything like this.

All this time, the truce was observed at the front, and even Turkish drones appeared in the sky only with the General consent and exclusively for reconnaissance purposes. But in fact, the Turks are quietly building their own military infrastructure in Idlib, and on new principles and on a long-term basis.

The Turks either cannot or do not want to bother with disarming or destroying radical groups in their area of responsibility near the M4 highway. The collision at Muhambal is the first test of strength. But disarming the militants and creating a demilitarized corridor near the highway is one of the key points of the Moscow agreement. Either you fulfill the contract or you don’t.

In turn, government forces in the same period moved large forces to the Zawiya mountains with the clear intention of targeting Jisr al-Shugur – a key point on the M4 highway and the informal capital of foreign gangs, including those from the former Soviet Union and the Russian North Caucasus.

All this together shows that, unfortunately, the current truce may not last until mid-April. There were already enough signs of such a negative scenario, but now it is highlighted very clearly.
https://vz.ru/world/2020/3/19/1029773.html