Giuseppe Sandro Mela.
2016-08-21.
Al-Hasaka è città siriana nella regione del nord est. È importante nodo stradale, essendo collegata ad ovest con la strada per Aleppo, a nord con la città di Al Qamishli, ed a sud con Al Mayadin e, quindi, con Abu Kamal. Inoltre, è di poco a ridosso del confine tra Siria e Turkia.
Le notizie sembrerebbero essere ancora alquanto incerte. Cercheremo di riportarle con ordine.
«American fighter jets have been scrambled to stop Bashar al-Assad’s air force bombing US special forces and anti-Isis allies on the ground as the Syrian conflict intensifies»
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«Defence officials said the Syrian planes were leaving as the coalition aircraft arrived, meaning they did not engage in combat, but that the US would not hesitate to defend its forces»
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«two Syrian air force SU-24s started air strikes near where coalition forces were conducting operations on the ground.»
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«Elite troops are training and supporting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the area, where rebel territory provides an eastern base for an expected advance on Isis’ de-facto capital of Raqqa»
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«Coalition military personnel attempted to contact the pilots over the “guard frequency” to prevent the confrontation but received no response, and moved in after being assured by Russian officials that their jets were not responsible for the bombing»
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«The US and Russia have established a special communications channel to avoid mid-air conflict as they continue to back opposing sides of the civil war, but no such contact exists with the Syrian government»
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In questa guerra civile resta davvero difficile cercare di capire chi combatta chi. Le sigle che le varie forze sul campo si attribuiscono sono spesso ingannatrici.
Inoltre, una parte di una fazione potrebbe essere schierata da una banda, e l’altra parte della fazione da banda opposta.
Emergerebbero però alcuni elementi.
– Le forze siriane starebbero conducendo operazioni in profondità nel nord est del paese. Si diano scontate sacche anche di grande rilevanza alle spalle, ma sarebbe questo un innegabile progresso.
– Alcune forze “kurde” sarebbero alleate di Assad, altre degli americani contro l’Isis, altre ancora trarrebbero la loro ragion d’essere in funzione anti – turka. In altri termini, la parola “kurdo” ben poco indica sulle alleanze in essere, Alleanze che peraltro sembrerebbero essere effimere.
– Sembrerebbe essere del tutto normale che gli americani siano intenzionati a difendere in ogni modo i propri alleati, anche a costo di cercare di abbattere aerei di altra nazionalità. È un diritto alla legittima difesa.
– Similmente, sembrerebbe evidente come né russi né americani cerchino al momento almeno uno scontro diretto: gli americani hanno fatto decollare i caccia solo dopo che i russi avevano loro dichiarato di essere estranei all’azione. Rapporti di buon vicinato, sicuramente, ma anche ragionevolezza nell’evitare scontri tra armamenti riferiti essere equipollenti.
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Potrebbe essersi trattato di un mero errore di valutazione da parte dei siriani, oppure un scollamento nelle comunicazione.
Di certo un malpensante potrebbe anche supporre che i russi abbiano voluto saggiare il grado di risposta statunitense e la loro determinazione. Così come potrebbe anche trattarsi di una potenziale trappola, per attirate i caccia americani nel raggio di azione degli S-400.
→ France 24. 2016-08-20. Syria regime flies jets over Hasakeh despite US warning
Syrian government warplanes were again in the air over the mainly Kurdish-held city of Hasakeh early Saturday despite a US warning against any new strikes that might endanger its military advisers, a monitor said.
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It was not immediately clear whether the aircraft, which were in the skies throughout the night, had carried out any bombing runs as there were heavy artillery exchanges on the ground, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Deadly clashes erupted between pro-government militia and the US-backed Kurdish forces on Wednesday. The following day, the regime launched its first ever air strikes against the Kurds.
The unprecedented strikes against six Kurdish positions in the northeastern city prompted the US-led coalition to scramble aircraft to protect US special operations forces advisers deployed with the Kurdish forces.
It was the first time the coalition had confirmed deploying warplanes against the Syrian air force.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis warned that “the Syrian regime would be well-advised not to do things that place them (coalition forces) at risk.”
The Observatory said there was no let-up in the fighting on the ground which has left 39 people dead since Wednesday, 23 of them civilians, including nine children.
“There were heavy clashes, artillery fire and rocket attacks throughout the night and ongoing in the morning,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Around two-thirds of Hasakeh is controlled by Kurdish forces, but the rest is in the hands of pro-government militia.
The regime and Kurdish forces share a common enemy in the Islamic State jihadist group, which controls most of the Euphrates valley to the south, but there have been tensions between them in Hasakeh that have sometimes led to clashes.
The Pentagon said no coalition casualties were reported in Thursday’s strikes by two Syrian SU-24s, and US special operations advisers had been moved to a safe location.
He said coalition aircraft were now carrying out additional combat patrols in the region.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) are a key US ally in the fight against IS.
Washington regards them as the most effective fighting force on the ground against the jihadists in Syria and has provided them with air cover and military advisers.
→ The Telegraph. 2016-08-20. Syria deploys warplanes over Hasakah despite US warning over strikes on Kurds
Syrian regime jets risked an aerial confrontation with US warplanes on Saturday after flying over a battleground city in northern Syria despite warnings that bombing there could lead to American forces opening fire.
The US scrambled its own jets on Thursday after Assad regime aircraft dropped bombs on Kurdish forces in the city of Hasakah, dangerously close to US commandos operating on the ground.
The incident ended without shots being fired but the Pentagon warned that similar bombing raids could lead to US jets shooting down the Syrians. “The Syrian regime would be well advised not to interfere with coalition forces or its partners,” a spokesman said.
It is believed to be the closest that American aircraft have come to opening fire on regime jets in the crowded skies above Syria.
Damascus appeared to be probing the limits of the American warning on Saturday as its air force flew more sorties over Hasakah, where regime troops are battling against US-backed Kurdish forces.
It was not clear whether the regime aircraft dropped bombs or not during the mission.
The rising tensions between the US and Syria came as Turkey’s prime minister said his country intended to play a “more active” in the conflict in Syria.
“Turkey will be more active in the Syria issue in the coming six months as a regional player. This means to not allow Syria to be divided on any ethnic base; for Turkey this is crucial,” Binali Yildirim said.
Mr Yildirim also said Turkey was prepared to see Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian regime leader, play a role in the country’s interim leadership as part of a political transition but must play no part in its future.
Turkey’s promise to assert itself appears to have been prompted by fears that Kurdish groups were gaining too much power in northern Syria and may encourage Kurds in Turkey to rise up too. “It is clear that the regime has understood the structure Kurds are trying to form in the north (of Syria) has started to become a threat for Syria too,” Mr Yildirim said.
Turkey’s anxieties mean its interests are at least temporarily aligned with the Assad regime’s, as both sides try to prevent Kurdish power from growing.
Fighting between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) intensified on Friday and Saturday inside Hasakah.
The clashes threaten to escalate into a full blown war between Kurds and the regime, which would open yet another new front in already fiendishly complex war.
Pro-government media said there had been preliminary meetings to try to organise a truce, in what some interpreted as a sign of the regime’s unwillingness to fight against yet another enemy.
→ Independent. 2016-08-20. Syria war: US fighter jets scrambled to stop Syrian planes bombing special forces and allies in Hasakah
American special forces have been training Kurdish groups regarded as ‘terrorists’ by the regime.
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American fighter jets have been scrambled to stop Bashar al-Assad’s air force bombing US special forces and anti-Isis allies on the ground as the Syrian conflict intensifies.
Defence officials said the Syrian planes were leaving as the coalition aircraft arrived, meaning they did not engage in combat, but that the US would not hesitate to defend its forces.
Captain Jeff Davis said the American jets were sent to the north-eastern city of Hasakah on Thursday after two Syrian air force SU-24s started air strikes near where coalition forces were conducting operations on the ground.
“It troubles us when we see regime airstrikes in Hasakah in an area where it’s well known by everybody, to include the [Assad] regime, that the coalition is actively engaged in operations against Isis,” the Department of Defence spokesperson said.
“We view instances that place coalition personnel at risk with the utmost seriousness and we do have the inherent right of self-defence when US forces are at risk.”
Elite troops are training and supporting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the area, where rebel territory provides an eastern base for an expected advance on Isis’ de-facto capital of Raqqa.
But as the Syrian civil war continues, regime forces have turned their fire on Kurdish areas of Hasakah for the past two days, causing thousands of civilians to flee a series of air raids.
Capt Davis said Thursday’s incident was the first time American planes had been scrambled in response to Syrian bombing, and the first known wide-ranging attack against the YPG by the regime.
Coalition military personnel attempted to contact the pilots over the “guard frequency” to prevent the confrontation but received no response, and moved in after being assured by Russian officials that their jets were not responsible for the bombing.
As allies of Assad, the Russians were asked to tell the Syrian government that US aircraft would move in if their troops were threatened, Capt Davies said.
The US and Russia have established a special communications channel to avoid mid-air conflict as they continue to back opposing sides of the civil war, but no such contact exists with the Syrian government.
Capt Davis said no US personnel were injured and that airspace would be closely monitored by extra patrols to ensure their safety, adding: “As we’ve said in the past, the Syrian regime would be well-advised not to interfere with coalition forces or our partners.”
The situation threatens to bring the international coalition into direct conflict with Assad’s forces for the first time since US planes started an anti-Isis bombing campaign in September 2015.
Faysal Itani, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said it was easy for the Syrian government to avoid bombing large bases but far more risky to strike areas close to YPG forces being trained by the coalition.
“If the regime continues bombing in close proximity to US forces, then simply I think the United States will shoot down the regime aircraft,” he added.
Britain, France and several other nations are also conducting air strikes, which are predominantly targeting the so-called Islamic State and supporting selected rebels fighting the group.
Russia and the Assad regime also say they are targeting Isis but class all opposition groups as “terrorists” and legitimate targets for their bombing raids.
In June, Russian planes hit a coalition-backed rebel group’s base with cluster munitions after allegedly ignoring attempts to warn them off.
Several members of the New Syrian Army (NSA) were killed in the attack on al-Tanf, where Russian officials allegedly did not respond to entreaties over the official communications channel.
The Kremlin’s jets reportedly retreated after the arrival of American planes, but returned after they left to carry out two devastating strikes during a supposed “cessation of hostilities”.
British special forces units were photographed near al-Tanf in June, as NSA fighters continued efforts to push Isis back from a strategic base and the borders with Iraq and Jordan.
Battles raged in Hasakah on Saturday, where residents said government air strikes had killed and injured dozens of civilians, cut off the electricity supply and caused food shortages.
The city and surrounding areas came under the control of militias led by the YPG in 2012 after regime forces withdrew from the predominantly Kurdish region to focus on fighting rebels elsewhere in Syria.
In a statement carried by Syrian state media, the general command of the armed forces accused Kurdish forces of “attacking state establishments, stealing oil and cotton, disrupting examinations, carrying out abductions, and causing a state of chaos and instability”.
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