Turkey Mustafa, Baladi News
This file discusses the ongoing battle in the northern countryside of Hama between the factions of the armed Syrian opposition on the one hand, and regime forces and the sectarian militias on the other hand within the framework of the battles raging in Syria.
We will present a brief analytical review about the military importance of the city of Hama which is related to the goals and outcomes of the battle. Then we will analyze the aspects of the battle: plans, interactions and results and we will also discuss the possible prospects of the battle of Hama depending on the progress of the battles on ground.
Introduction:
Since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the city of Hama and the most parts of its countryside entered the range of armed confrontation between the rebels and regime forces along with the thugs as the battles are still expanding on the map of the governorate in the northern, eastern and southern countryside. Amidst the continuation of the battles, changes have taken place regarding the methods of fighting, its plans and potentials along with the attitudes of the parties in alliances and blocs, while the battle of Hama remained a matter of debate due to the failure of the factions of the rebels in the governorate as its liberation could greatly affect other fronts which will be of great benefit to the Syrian revolution towards its main goal in overthrowing Assad's regime.
The Strategic Importance of the Battle of Hama
The governorate of Hama can be described as the most delicate and influential part in the heart of Syria being the gate of the Syrian coast through the road of Beit Yashoot, including the region of the west of Orontes river which is inhabited by a pro-regime majority and located in contact with the mountains of the Alawites. It's also considered a huge human reservoir that provides Assad's forces and militias with militants.
The only supplying line of Assad's regime goes through Hama, Al-Salamiyah, then Ethrayya to Aleppo. South of Hama, in the northern countryside of Homs, we have the opposition's strongholds in a region that have been besieged for two years. In the vicinity of the city there is a military airbase from which Assad's warplanes take off to bombard the rebellious cities and towns.
The governorate has a strategic and geostrategic value through the diversity of its terrain of plains and plateau that is penetrated by Orontes River which gave it an economic advantage that is of great importance in both peace and war conditions. Therefore, controlling Hama was on top priorities of the battle launched by the opposition's factions, and every one of them had a different name for this battle, as Jund al-Aqsa called it "the Invasion of Shiekh Marwan Hadid", while Jaish al-Nasr called it "Anger's lava in support of Aleppo", and Jaish al-Izzah called it "we proceed for the sake of Allah".
The importance of the city of Hama lies in it being the most important geographical point that can connect or separate the south and north of Syria which makes it of a great importance in any military action that is to maintain the unity of Syria or divide it.
On the military level, the road of "Hama, Ethrayya, Aleppo" gained strategic importance after the rebels had cut the international road of Hama-Aleppo three years ago, as controlling the supplying roads and movements of regime forces and their militias is considered a threat to their unity and an impact on the ideas of their leaders and militants which confuses them and limits their choices. The power of the impact depends on the way in which those roads are controlled and invested.
It should be noted here that Assad's regime has focused on tightening its grip on Hama and its western and eastern countryside along with its pursuit to subdue the entire province as being an important area both geographically and demographically, not to mention being a center of the revolutionary movement throughout the modern Syrian history which is clear through the events of 1964, the uprising of Hama in 1982, and the Syrian revolution in 2011.
In light of all these data, we can understand the regime's early actions in Hama as its thugs attacked the city in 2011 in a military step that cut the road before any attempt to make Hama a center for the Syrian revolution.
Current Field Scenario
The ongoing battles in the northern countryside of Hama reveal a high-level military coordination on the ground among the opposition's factions with their various groups, which presented tactical plans with impressive results by breaking the strategic defensive arc created by Assad's regime which was extending from the village of Maan in the eastern countryside of Hama through Sawran, al-Buwayda , Maarkaba, al-Zlakiat and Zlin to Shalliot in the west and to the western countryside of Hama reaching the city of Karnaz.
So, to monitor the progress of the battles, we must know the two sides of the fighting:
- Factions of the Armed Opposition
The Free Army: which enters the midst of the battle with two main factions which are " Jaish al-Nasr" and " Jaish al-Izzah", who have light, medium, and heavy weapons that they seized during the confrontations with Assad's regime. They are chaired by a number of leaders, including " the lieutenant colonel Jameel al-Saleh, commander of Jaish al-Izzah brigade and the Major Muhammed Mansour, commander of Jaish al-Nasr. They are also supported by groups of the Free Army that have combating and logistic missions such as Bayan movement that is concerned with bombarding the operation room of the Iranian militias in the Veterinary Research Institute and in Rahbet Khitab, along with other groups of FSA which have "TOW" missiles.
Jund al-Aqsa: a combat formation with independent leadership. It coordinates with the other factions during the fight in the joint battles. It is composed of a group of fighters who have acquired high levels of combating capabilities.
Jaish Hama: Several factions and civilian bodies have announced on Sunday, 4th of September the establishment of "the Supreme Commission for the management of the city of Hama," from which emerged a military body under the name of the "Jaish Hama." The Commission included: "al-Iman Army " affiliated to the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham, four combating brigades within "al- sham Legion" and "Saraya al-Murabitoun" affiliated to the "Islamic Union for Ajnad al-Sham", "Ahal al-Beit Brigade" affiliated to the "Army of Islam", "Jund al-Sham battalions, and "Bilad al-Sham" brigade.
In addition to the following committees: the Shariah Committee in Hama, Hama's Media Center, the medical system of the city of Hama, Ansar al-Sham committee, and Ahal al-sham gathering. The organizers of the committee explained in a text statement that the committee "aims at "managing the city according to a clear strategy, including all military and civilian aspects from services, management, education and an independent judiciary to establish a state of justice and law".
- Regime Forces, Thugs, and Shiite Militias: These formations represent the counter part for the armed opposition factions and in details they are:
Iranian Militias: a group of sectarian militants which Iran threw in the Syrian war to confront the rebellious Syrian people for money and sectarian mobilization against Sunnis. Such formations have ideological names like (the Lebanese Hezbollah, Abu al-Fadel al-Abbas Iraqi battalions and the Afghani Fatemeoun brigade) along with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran also has a military base in Syria in the center of the Veterinary Research that includes a joint military operation room with the Russians and a helicopter airstrip along with another base in Zine El Abidine mountain which overlooks the eastern part of Hama city. Iran has also seized control over tank brigade 47 using it as a center to train its sectarian militias. A general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard called Daryosh Dresti was killed during the clashes with the Free Syrian Army in the battles of Tel Al-Naseriyah in the northwestern countryside of Hama.
Assad's forces: They consist of what's left of Assad's army and have several military bases in Hama, the most important of which are the military airport of Hama and Brigade 87 located on al-Hamra road next to the pro-regime village of Maeershahour and the village of Kafraa in the eastern countryside of Hama. It's noteworthy that the brigade is now under the leadership of Russian officers and military experts.
Thugs Militia: an armed group created by Assad's security forces to repress the demonstrators. Most of them have criminal records and they were released by Assad in the beginning of the revolution. Their slogan is "Forever thugs, for the sake of Assad". Their centers in Hama are the village of Qamhana and Sawran town in the northern countryside of the city.
Confrontation plans and tactics of the battle
The battles of the northern countryside of Hama are taking place according to plans imposed on every party by the military incidents, and they can't be detached from what's happening in Aleppo which means that the reality, whether here or there, is a military escalation to gain more territory which is confronted by more escalation to hang on to the territory and regain it. Regarding the tactics used in the battles of the northern countryside of Hama, it's noted that the opposition factions have switched from defense to attack which paved the way to liberate a large area after breaking the defense line of Assad and its allied militia in the first stage of the battle in al-Masasnieh, Maerkabeh, and al-Boyidah along with the checkpoints of Zlien and al-Zliquiat. In the second stage of the battle, the opposition controlled the city of Halfaya , the village of Al-Naseriyah and its strategic hill along with Taybat al-Imam. In the third stage, they controlled the city of Sawran and Tal Bizam along with liberating several points in the vicinity of the Iranian base in Rahbet Khattab, while Jound al-Qasa managed to control the Russian missiles' battalion north east the village of Maardis, which was controlled after violent battles with Assad's regime forces leading them to retreat towards Zine El Abidine's mountain.
Interactions of Hama's Battle and its Consequences
The armed opposition factions cooperated and coordinated among each other which enabled them since the outbreak of the battle on the 29th of last August to liberate important regions (Halfaya, Taybat al-Imam, and Sawran ) achieving major results which could be detected through having initiative in the battle. Assad's forces are now depending mainly on the Russian air force after the missiles of the rebels managed to partially disrupt the intensive raids from Hama's military airbase along with controlling the international road connecting Maardis and Aleppo.
And now that major factions of the Syrian opposition have joined the battle under the name of Jaish Hama, this battle will expand which means other regions will be inside it like Masyaf and Al-Salamiyah, and the armed opposition will be close to the regions of west of Orontes river where the largest military gatherings in al-Ghab plain are, like Jourin military camp; the last defense line for the pro-regime villages in the plain, this will force the regime to bring a lot of reinforcements, not to mention the dispersion of the Air Force, and thus take the fight to Assad regime's incubator.
If the rebels managed to reach the northern countryside of Homs, this will be help to expand the liberated area and change it into camps supporting the revolution with supplies and militants and the regime will lose its only land outlet towards Aleppo. That's why the armed opposition factions are daily attacking the military bases of the regime and its allied militia in Rahbet Khattab, Zine El Abidine's mountain, and Hama's military airbase which is now in the range of Grad missiles along with working on keeping and securing the liberated lands.
However, the expanding of the liberated regions from Halfaya in the west till Maardis in the east increases the needs of the rebels to militants, supplying lines, connection networks and expenses in order to ensure more security against Russian and regime airstrikes.
From a political point of view, the coalition of revolutionary forces is lacking the free political will because it's affected by conflicting international considerations and interests, not to mention that many supporting countries are observing the outcomes of the battle of Hama and many regional and international powers refuse the Islamic currents to monopolize the power or even to be the most effective party in it.
The investment of the battle of Hama is bound to the level of the internal agreement among the armed opposition factions along with the free political will that will enable them to get rid of their dependency on external powers and their narrow considerations and thus the battle of Hama will be effective in pushing the wheel of victory, otherwise many other battles are awaiting the city and its countryside and the state of attack and retreat will continue till stopped by a political solution.
The international player seeks to fix the Alawite sect in a position of internal power as being a religious minority that is being invested to serve its interests, therefore, the battle of liberating Hama can't be fulfilled without transferring the battles into the pro-Assad sectarian incubator which participated in destroying the Syrian towns and cities. Perhaps the conflicting interests among the major countries that observe and manipulate what's happening in Syria are the factors that stop and resume the battles till the various regional and international powers reach a minimum limit of agreement on the political form of the new regime in Syria which for sure will not be up to the aspirations and goals of our revolution.
