The Escalation in Northern Syria is its Reality - Its Motives and the Shariah Obligation Towards It
(Translated)
By Ustadh Nasser Sheikh Abdul Hai

https://www.alraiah.net/index.php/political-analysis/item/8979-escalation-in-northern-syria

Ankara and Moscow continue to coordinate the two parties' tireless conspiratorial work in Syria, especially after the recent events in Idlib Governorate and the Russian escalation, in light of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) continuing to prepare for an alleged "anticipated" battle against the criminal regime. A delegation from Turkish intelligence met with a delegation of officers from Russian intelligence and military police on Tuesday 22 October 2024, at the Russian base known as Al-Mansharah on the M4 road, near the village of Tarnaba, west of the city of Saraqib in the Idlib countryside. This meeting comes amid a military buildup on the fronts of Idlib, Aleppo and Latakia, in addition to the escalation of the Jews in Lebanon, and the intensification of targeting Syrian lands. In parallel with the meeting, Turkish intelligence conducted tours of the military check points spread across the region. This meeting is a continuation of previous meetings held by Russian and Turkish delegations to discuss developments in Syria. The two delegations discussed the recent Russian escalation in Idlib and the steps to restore relations between Turkey and the criminal regime through Russian mediation. Damascus did not respond to the Turkish president’s invitation to hold a meeting with his tyrannical counterpart Assad, especially his recent request to Putin to pressure Assad, to accelerate the normalization process between them. Erdogan recently stated, “We hope that the Syrian administration realizes the benefits of a sincere and realistic normalization of relations with Türkeye and takes appropriate measures,” while the criminal regime announced its adherence to the Turkish withdrawal from Syrian territory, without setting conditions for the meeting.

The opening of the M4 and M5 international roads was also a major focus in the meetings of the Russian and Turkish delegations, due to their strategic importance. The M4 road extends from Latakia to Hasakah, passing through Aleppo and Raqqa, making it a vital artery for trade, while the M5 road connects Damascus and Aleppo via Homs and Hama, and is considered one of the most important commercial and industrial roads in Syria.

It is worth noting that on 27 August 2024, there was a tripartite meeting between Turkish, Russian and Iranian delegations in the city of Saraqib to discuss opening and securing highways. There were attempts to convince people to open commercial crossings between regime-controlled and liberated areas, despite their absolute rejection of opening the Abu al-Zandin crossing, considering it a malicious normalization step pushed by the Turkish regime. This was preceded by a meeting between Turkish and Russian officials on 20 August 2024 for the same purpose. On 12 October 2024, Erdogan renewed his talk about the importance of "the unity of Syrian territory" (which is of course under the rule of the regime and its brutality), drawing Damascus' attention to the possibility of expanding the scope of the Jews' war on Lebanon, especially after its bombing of the capital.

There is no doubt, and what should not be forgotten, that America has been controlling the strings of the Syrian file since the days of the late Hafez al-Assad. America is the one protecting the regime of his son, Bashar al-Assad, and providing it with the means of life through its tools. It is the one distributing roles to our enemies to stifle the revolution, whether those of them who openly declare their hostility to us, or hypocritically wear the guise of friends, headed by the Turkish conspiring regime, the godfather of normalization and reconciliations. The Turkish regime is pushing its tools in the liberated areas, from the leaders of the factions and others, to pressure the people in terms of security, military, economics and livelihood to submit to the surrender solutions that America engineers, whilst its tools and creators implement them. These interconnected leaders played the most prominent and dirtiest role in freezing the fronts for five years, in implementation of the points of the Astana and Geneva accords. They were truly the first line of defense for the tyrant’s regime, in harmony with the role of the Turkish support points. It was a humiliating unilateral de-escalation, accompanied by the incessant bombing by the criminal regime and its allies Russia, Iran and its party in Lebanon against our people. This was whilst the response was always timid, if there was a response, throwing dust in the eyes and absorbing the anger of the Ummah.

The people are suffering from the crimes of the regime and its allies, from bombing, destruction and displacement. This is in addition to the systematic oppression of people who have lost their livelihood and their food staples. There is a longing within the displaced and refugees to return to their homes. There is further penetration of the spirit of revolution in people’s hearts, with their constant aspiration to overthrow the criminal regime. This is especially with despair at the traitorous leaders of the liaison with the regime. With all of this a pressurizing public opinion has formed throughout the liberated areas, regarding the necessity of seizing the military decision from its usurping leaders to open real fronts, led by sincere decision-makers. Such sincere are apart from the leaders, who are shackled by the orders of the Turkish regime.

This is in order to shake the throne of the collapsing and dilapidated regime, in light of its allies’ preoccupation with themselves. Russia is drowning in the Ukrainian quagmire. Iran and its Lebanese Hezb are busy dealing with the strikes of the Jewish entity. Even the regime itself is busy with the strikes of the entity in the capital, Damascus, and elsewhere. As usual, its response to restore its reputation is by bombing civilians, and arresting Syrians displaced from Lebanon due to the current crisis.

This pressuring public opinion, and the increasing angry popular demands to open fronts, especially with the availability of all the capabilities and components, have completely exposed the stances of the leaders of the factions. They have begun to truly fear that this regime will disintegrate, or that a state of chaos will occur that the Ummah’s sincere people, and the best of its revolutionaries and mujahideen, can exploit by carrying out independent, sincere actions followed by the Ummah’s armed forces. This is especially if the destination is the coast, as a prelude to what lies beyond it. This prompted the leaders linked to the orders of their masters, to rush to address this serious issue. They did this by creating an atmosphere of war, propaganda for it, beating its drums, fabricating mobilizations, and transporting weapons. This was all the fuss without action, in order to circumvent the demands of the cradle of the revolution, and the aspirations of the mujahideen, and even obtaining security information about the Ummah’s sincere people who want to move away from the Turkish tools, that have only increased our exhaustion.

The recent Russian bombing of the liberated areas is in harmony with the goals of the Turkish regime and its tools in the liberated areas. It is a display of bulging muscles that covers the weakness and cowardice of the criminal regime. At the same time, it gives the leaders of the factions an excuse not to open the fronts, under the pretext of the enemy’s strength and its ability to hurt people and cause new waves of displacement. This is the same depressing narrative that paid intelligence pens write about, in service of the agendas of the enemies of the revolution.

A few days ago, Turkish aircraft targeted the vicinity of the Aoun al-Dadat crossing, which is under the control of the SDF, to push towards opening the Abu al-Zandin crossing, to receive Syrian refugees from Lebanon. Our people responded that we have more right to our people than the conspirators, so receiving our brothers is an obligation, but opening the crossing as a normalization step is unacceptable and lives are at stake. The SDF responded by bombing the cities of Azaz and al-Bab.
America, through the Turkish regime and its control over the leaders and its grip on the decision to go to war, has imposed a freeze on the fronts for years. This is to end the situation of revolution and Jihad state and push people towards passivity, submission and surrender to the reality it wants to impose. This is especially so amidst the malicious and false propaganda about the weakness of the revolutionaries, who make tawwakul on their Lord, as well as false propaganda about the strength of their enemies, who are preoccupied with themselves.

Accordingly, it is currently politically unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future, that there will be a real battle that America and its tool, the Turkish regime, will allow. This is except in the event of an increase in the boiling of the street, which could push them to instruct their tools on the ground to open specific fronts with limited impact and danger, far from the stronghold of the criminal regime and the goal of overthrowing it. It may be limited to liberating some areas that are not geographically and strategically influential, in order to deceive the cradle of the revolution and vent its energies and anesthetize it for a while, and exhaust the efforts of the sincere.

As for the leaders’ talk and their promotion of the propaganda of liberating Aleppo, it is far from reality. It is contradicted by Erdogan, America’s spokesman to protect the regime and stifle the revolution. It is contradicted by his continuous statements about the unity of Syrian lands and normalization with the tyrant Assad. This is in line with the statements of Geir Pedersen, the UN envoy in the same context, who always calls for an American political solution and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. This strengthens the criminal regime and fights all who revolt against it. This is whilst reminding, in the same context, of what was issued by “Al-Fath Al-Mubin” and the “Political Affairs Department in the Salvation Government” of condemnation and denunciation and holding the regime, Russia and Iran responsible for the results of the bombing and waves of displacement and eviction “and the right to defend our people and our land by all legitimate means”!

Some people now talk about America being preoccupied with other issues, and about the possibility of its temporary acceptance of dividing Syria into federations until it is able, through its agents, to re-establish the criminal regime’s full control. However, there is no clear indication of this so far except for some of what is rumored about a plan to divide Syria into four regions. This cannot be relied upon or built upon in the analysis so far.

It is worth mentioning that the blessed movement of the Ummah and its efforts to regain its authority and decision from the slave leaders and its call to open fronts, has harmed the de facto authority. This is especially al-Julani and his general apparatus of oppression, which has begun to arrest the Dawah carriers and the free men of the Ummah who bear the Ummah’s concern, and sharpen its resolve to bring down the conspirators, and crown the sacrifices of the revolutionaries.

The struggle of the enemies of the revolution is with the people of the ash-Sham, their defiant stances, their high spirits, and their deeply rooted beliefs. It is not with the leaders of the liaison with the regime, who are trying to lead the revolution and its people to the executioner's guillotine. Our revolution is the revolution of the Ummah, not a revolution of factions. Therefore, our salvation lies in getting rid of these slave leaders and entrusting the matter to its sincere people, to open real fronts that will shake the throne of the regime, rid the people of its evils, and establish on its ruins the rule of Islam and its state of Khilafah (Caliphate), bi’thAllah. Anything less than this is just doses to numb and absorb the people's anger; prolonging their suffering.

* Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Syria