Syrian officer to ST: forces in Syria

Syrian officer has ruled out direct confrontation between Syrian and Turkish forces in the north of Syria after the Syrian army’s entry in Manbij city on Friday, but he expects the use of proxy forces card [Sultan Murad division and other Erdogan’s sultan divisions] by Turkey in coincidence with the start of Idlib battle – by the beginning of next year.

Major General Mohammad Abbas has told the Syria Times e-newspaper that Turkey will never be engaged in direct confrontation with Syrian army , but it may use the proxy forces it pulled from Idlib, Jesr al-Shoghour , Morek and other areas to kill Syrian Kurds.

“By using proxy forces , Racep Tayyip Erdogan will get rid of these forces and will kill a lot of Syrian Kurds through a battle that will lead to the destruction of infrastructure in Syrian areas and the expansion of war against Syrian state,” the officer said, adding that Erdogan may use the Turkish proxy forces in coincidence with the start of Idlib battle in order to stop Idlib battle in exchange for stopping possible battles in Ein Arab or Tal Abyad.

“One of Erdogan’s choices now is to sacrifice his proxy forces in Idlib because of the failure of armed tools in the war against Syria and to move with western countries to diplomatic or political or economic conflict,” MGen Abbas stated, asserting that the Turkish proxy forces [Nour al-Din al-Zeinki movement and al-Nusra Front] has become a burden on Turkey .

The officer pointed out that Idlib battle may start by the beginning of the next year as Syrian citizens in the province reject the existence of terrorist groups and look forward to welcoming Syrian army and fighting alongside it.

 He affirmed that Russia and Iran will never give Turkey a green light to expand in Syrian territories as Syria’s allies strategically and military coordinate to defeat terrorist groups, especially ISIS, in the north of Syria.

As for the Syrian Democratic forces, the M. Gen said that a settlement between them and Syrian state is around the corner, but the problem lies in the fact that the Kurdish organizations in the northeast of Syria are composed of 85 political parties.

“Some of these parties work for the interest of Turkey and they can hinder any settlement,” the officer clarifies, referring to the high level of coordination between Turkey and Israel [ Zionist enemy] against Syria.

“The common aggressive goals of Turkey and Zionist entity are to prolong the war in Syria, prevent Syrian state from achieving national stability and hinder rebuilding process and the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland,” he added.

The officer connected between the US President’s declaration to pull US forces from Syria, Turkish forces’ deployment in the north of Menbej city and Israel’s missile attack on the western- south side of Damascus.

Syrian Kurds

These rapid and recent developments come within the framework of the ongoing war on Syria, according to the major general, who made it clear that Syrian people’s adherence to national sovereignty and Syrian army’s recapture of most of the areas held by American proxy warriors are behind these developments.

“Syrian Kurds have realized that only the Syrian state can protect them against Turkish attack.. There is a difference between Syrian Kurds, who have not abandoned the national identity, and the Turkish and Iraqi Kurds, who came to Syria to call for independent state and to instigate people against the Syrian state,” he said.

Syrian Kurds know well that Kurds in the northeast of Euphrates have given the Turkish regime a pretext to enter Syrian territories under false concerns. Therefore, they have announced their loyalty to the Syrian state.

“The accurate term that must be used to describe what is happening in Syria is the Fourth-generation warfare (4GW) that aims to achieve victory over Syria.  But Syrian state has proven its capability to achieve balance in this war and remain steadfast to liberate all areas in the country,” M. Gen. Abbas concluded.

Interviewed by: Basma Qaddour