Ca va pas fort pour les rebelles de la poche d’Azaz qui après avoir pris du territoire à Da’ich risquent de voir leur microterritoire coupé en 2 par les offensives de Da’ich et perdre la ville de Mare. Reste que la ligne de front ne cesse de bouger dans cette zone et donc que rien n’y est fait :
(carte de @miladvisor)
Cela dans les contexte où on évoque la création d’une armée « Armée du Nord » (Jaych al-Chamal) sous le patronage turco-américain qui aurait pour but d’empêcher les Kurdes de faire la jonction Kobané-Afrin en prenant du territoire à Da’ich au Nord à partir de la poche d’Azaz, et également de combattre al-Nousra dans la province d’Idlib afin d’aider la rébellion à se distancier du groupe selon les souhaits des Russes - et, semble-t-il, des Américains (mais soyons prudents...) :
▻http://www.thearabweekly.com/?id=5153
The plan was reportedly formulated at a meeting May 9th in Turkey and included intelligence officials from the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in addition to leaders of the rebel groups. Turkish officials bluntly told the insurgents that if they refused to join the proposed alliance they would be branded as terrorists.
The Americans are to provide the new force with advanced weaponry. Saudi Arabia and Qatar would cover financial costs. Military operations could start within two weeks. Air cover would be provided by the coalition countries while Turkey would offer artillery support from across the border.
According to a field commander with al-Zenki, the plan involves three phases, starting with the announcement of the creation of Jaish al-Shamal. The second step includes moving the groups’ fighters and their weapons via Turkish territories to northern Aleppo. The third phase is the fight itself.
He noted that opposition groups had begun on May 13th moving fighters and heavy weaponry through Bab al-Hawa, a border crossing between Syria and Turkey.
Al-Zenki group is to lead the battle, which is meant to fight ISIS, evict al-Nusra Front from Idlib, liberate the town of Al Raii, capture the area to the east of city of Azaz and then the city of Mare’.
The plan was confirmed by US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who declared at a May 13th news conference in Washington that the United States and Turkey share the objective of clearing the area from ISIS.
However, the fact that the plan does not refer to fighting troops loyal to Assad has aroused suspicions among rebel groups of the existence of a prior agreement between the United States and Russia on the formation of the new alliance.
“We fear that the US conditions limit the mission of this (new) army to fighting ISIS,” an al-Zenki commander said. “Is there a US-Russian understanding with the Syrian regime to avoid fighting between the Northern Army and the Syrian regular army as well as the Kurdish fighters who are attempting to control the area?”
It seems opposition groups have no alternative but to go along with the US plan of fighting ISIS out of fear that they will lose land to advancing Assad troops, backed by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters under Russian air cover, and also their only supply route from Turkey, which threatened to consider them terrorists if they fail to comply.
Nonetheless, the US-sponsored plan seems to serve the goals of Turkey, which according to high-ranking Syrian opposition sources, “is facing an embarrassing situation” after the killing of more than 25 people and the injuring of dozens of others by ISIS bombardment from Syria on the Turkish town of Kilis.
